Beautiful Nightmare
by Iamafanoftoomanythingstoname
Summary: *STORY UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!* Ponyboy is sent 50 years into the future after a fight with his brothers. Now he must find a way back to his own time before disaster can rear its ugly head. REPOSTED AFTER HIATUS!
1. What I Would Give

**READ THIS AUTHOR"S NOTE! IT"S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!**

**A/N: Hey, this is Iamafanoftoomanythingstoname . You probably knew that, lol. Anyways, I just want to make sure that you all know that this is NOT my story, I promise I didn't steal it or anything. jacobluver113 gave me permission to finish this story for her. So I don't come in until chapter 17. The first 16 belong to her, as well as her original characters of Chase and Anna. S.E. Hinton owns the Outsiders. Thank you and review please! (Oh, also, I know some swear words are bleeped out. Sorry. I don't like swearing and when this was sent to me in a PM from the original author, they were already bleeped out due to filtering. Don't be mad at me! It's just that I don't swear. I know that the first 16 chapters belong to her, but I am not typing them back out. )**

Chapter 1

What I Would Give

"What do you want to do today, Ponyboy?" Johnny asked as he and Ponyboy walked down the street from the lot. Pony looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed. What was there to do? He and Johnny played some one-on-one football, but that got boring rather quickly. It wasn't the same without the rest of the gang playing along and Two-bit's smart comments and touchdown dances. He offered to go down into town and babe watch, but Johnny shot that down with a skeptical glare. Ponyboy sighed again.

"There's nothing to do, Johnny," he told his best friend as they turned onto Pony's street. They saw the house up ahead. Johnny groaned.

"You know," Johnny said as Pony opened the door for him. "Sometimes I wish there were no summer breaks. School actually gave us something to do."

I laughed as I followed Johnny inside. "Tell Two-bit that one."

Johnny snickered as he plopped down on the couch.

"Tell me what?" Two-bit drawled as he appeared from the kitchen with a half eaten sandwich. He had a beer in his right hand, which was half way gone. I rolled my eyes. It was barely one in the afternoon.

"Johnny says that school is fun," I repeated as Johnny turned on the television to something entertaining. Two-bit started laughing like what I said was funniest thing he's ever heard. Bits of mayonnaise, roast beef, and soggy bread flew from his mouth.

"That's a classic right there," he said when he recovered. He started wiping his mouth off with his sleeve. "What have you been smoking, kid?" Two-bit asked Johnny. Johnny rolled his eyes and returned his attention back to the television show he was watching. Two-bit snickered again and sat down next to him. I walked into the kitchen to find something to eat. I opened the fridge and groaned. We needed to go grocery shopping and fast. I settled with a piece of sliced roast beef as I pulled out a Coke. When I returned, I saw Dally walking through the door. My eyes widened. His left eye was swollen and starting to bruise.

"What happened to you, Dal?" I asked. Johnny and Two-bit looked up to see Dally smirking slightly.

"Yeah. What happened to you, Dallas?" Two-bit smiled. "Get in another fight with Sylvia?" Dally gave him a deadly glare, which had Two-bit looking quickly away. Dallas sighed.

"You're right about one thing, Two-bit," Dallas began. He took the spot to the right of Johnny. "I did get into a fight." Dallas smiled at Johnny wickedly and messed with his raven hair. "How's it going, Johnny-Cakes?"

Johnny grinned back. "I'm fine," he muttered quickly. "Who'd you fight, Dal?"

"Just Tim Shepard," Dallas said as he reclined into the couch to look at the TV.

"Why?" Johnny asked with morbid curiosity. His eyes were soldered onto his idol. Two-bit's eyes flickered with interest but he didn't look concerned.

"We were both bored to **," Dally said without looking at Johnny.

"You fight people when you're bored?" Johnny asked with confusion.

"Just Tim," Dally replied with a smirk. I snorted a laugh and looked at Johnny.

"That's what we could do, Johnny. We could go out and find the biggest guy we can find and start a fight."

Johnny rolled his eyes and relaxed into the couch with Dallas. "Whatever you say, Pone. Whatever you say."

~b~

Three hours later, Sodapop, along with Steve, and Darry walked into the house. I looked at Darry, surprised.

"Hey, Darry," I greeted from the floor. "I didn't think you would be off work until six." I glanced at the clock in the hall. It read 4:17. Darry groaned as he set his tool box and belt next to the door. Must have been a long day today.

"I was able to get off early today," he muttered as he slowly started to stretch his back, his arms high above his head. He groaned loudly when he was in a full arc. Soda growled.

"I thought we told you to take it easy, Dar," he accused with narrowed eyes. Darry just shrugged, causing him to wince slightly.

"Roberts won't let up. He wants that roof done in two weeks, which, I might add, is virtually impossible. We are already a week down, which only leaves us a week left to finish the job. We are just barely past half way done."

Sodapop was gnawing on his cheek. He only did that when he was seriously annoyed. He shook his head. "I'm giving you a back rub later tonight and no ifs, ands, or buts about it," he threatened as he and Steve walked into the kitchen. I smiled slightly.

"There's no food in the house," I shouted as I watched Mickey Mouse dance on the screen. Two-bit had control of the remote. I heard Steve and Soda groan in unison.

"You're going on a diet, Two-bit!" Steve yelled. Two-bit laughed and jumped off the couch with a yawn.

"Well, I'll see ya'll later. I have a date with a blonde and a six pack," Two-bit said as he made his way to the door.

"Which unfortunate babe has a date with you?" Steve asked as he leaned against the wall with a beer in his hand. Soda was standing next to him, tearing pieces of bread and popping them into his mouth. Two-bit's smile didn't falter. It never did.

"I don't know yet. We will find that out when I get to the Dingo," he replied with a smirk before disappearing through the door. I shook my head. May God have mercy on the girl who would ever think of going anywhere with Two-bit. A few minutes later, Dallas also stood.

"I also have a date to attend to," he said. When he reached the door, he turned around and gave a gracious bow with a sweep of his arm. "May you gentleman have a good night," he said sarcastically. He attempted a British accent, but it sounded off with his New York drawl. He winked at Johnny and punched his way through the door. He, too, disappeared from sight. Steve followed after him an hour later. The only one left was Johnny. He eventually had to leave also.

When everyone was out of the house, Sodapop pointed to the floor in front of the television. He was staring at Darry, who was sitting next to me. "Lay down right now," he commanded. Darry looked up towards the ceiling as if to argue.

"Soda—" Darry began, but the glare he got back made him stop midsentence.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Darrel Shane Curtis," Soda threatened again. There wasn't an ounce of compromise on his face. Darry's eyes narrowed at the mention of his full name. I laughed silently as the second oldest of the three of us bossed the eldest one around.

"Who is the oldest here?" Darry asked. He didn't move an inch from the couch. Soda crossed his arms in front of his chest. I knew this wasn't over yet. If there's one thing that can be said about Sodapop Patrick Curtis, it is that it's nearly impossible to deter him from anything. Especially if it involved the gang or his two brothers.

"You are," he answered calmly. Darry nodded as if he thought this argument was over.

"And what does that mean?" Darry asked.

Sodapop continued to stare into Darry's ice blue orbs. "It means that oldest of the three of us is going to be lying on his stomach in front of the TV while the second oldest is going to be giving him a back massage. And the third oldest is going to read a book. Now that we have that settled, get down here."

Darry exhaled sharply and turned to me. I shrugged and returned to my book. "Don't look at me," I muttered. "You should have known better." He groaned as he wrenched himself off the couch and walked towards the second oldest. Sodapop looked pointedly at the floor. Darry gave one more chance.

"Sodapop…"

Soda's eyes narrowed.

"Please…"

Soda's finger jabbed at the carpet beneath his feet. Darry shook his head as he finally accepted that he was going to lose this battle. With a huff, Darry yanked his white T-shirt over his head and plopped down on his stomach.

"Now was that so hard?" Soda asked with a smirk on his face.

"Just get on with it, Sodapop," Darry muttered into his arms which were folded into his face. Soda laughed as he straddled Darry's hips. His hands shot to Darry's shoulders. As soon as Soda made the first downward stoke with the heel of his palms, Darry groaned loudly.

"I don't care what you say, Darry," Soda said as his forehead creased in effort to get all the knots rubbed out of Darry's broad shoulders, which, apparently, there were many. "You need this badly." Darry groaned again as Soda pushed his thumbs into where his neck met his shoulder.

I shook my head and returned to my book. It was about a boy who was ** off at his brothers and runs away. He meets this mysterious man in a smoky gray cloak. The cloaked man does this weird thing with his hand and the boy finds himself in the distant future. He meets this beautiful girl and falls in love with her. Together they embark in a journey to return to his own time. I found it easy to relate to the boy. I watched my brothers for a while as Soda started to rub Darry's left arm. I would find it cool to time travel to the future. Just to see what all has changed from my time. I rolled my eyes as I continued with my book. The flipping of pages, TV, and Darry's groans were the only sounds I heard as I immersed into the book and inside the boy's head.

Like any of that could happen.


	2. What Have I Done

Chapter 2

What Have I Done

I woke up to the sound of clattering plates in the kitchen. I moaned as I rolled over to my side and tried to get back some sleep. I was having a beautiful dream and I wasn't quite ready to wake up from it. That was short lived, though, because the next thing I knew, Sodapop was jumping up and down on the bed in an attempt to wake me up.

"Rise and shine, little brother. Today is another glorious day and as your older brother, it is my duty to make sure you don't waste it away in this bed." He continued jumping up and down. I curled my lip and glared at him from the corner of my eye. He gave me an impish grin when his eyes connected with mine. I closed my eyes as I tried to ignore the little jerks my body gave with each jump he made. I heard him sigh and, with one last sudden bounce, the bed stilled.

"Pony, wake up. Breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen and it's your favorite. Chocolate cake. Mmm. Yummy." He tried to entice me out of the bed, but I was way too comfortable to even think about moving from my spot on the bed. Soda groaned and he was silent for a little bit. My body tensed up instinctively, suspicious. My mind raced to the thoughts I had last night when Soda demanded Darry off the couch. It was impossible to dissuade Sodapop if he wanted something. Right now, he wanted me out of bed.

The next thing I knew, the comforter I had clutched under my chin was yanked from my body. My body curled into a fetal position. I was only clad in my boxers, so I understandably shivered as the cold air whipped at my body. I still didn't budge, though. Soda was still silent, so I knew he had something else in mind. As quickly as the comforter slipped out of my grasp, the sheets below me zipped away. I still didn't budge. The next thing to disappear was the pillow my head was resting upon, so I reached for Soda's pillow. It followed its twin. I heard Sodapop grumble unintelligibly. His voice was suddenly next to my ear.

"Don't make me do it, Ponyboy," Soda warned. "Because I will." I shivered from the threat of his words but I was still too stubborn to comply to his demand. He gave me a moment to make some sort of response but I remained unresponsive. He sighed like he really didn't want to do what he was about to do next. "Fine," he muttered. I heard him clap his hands and rub them together as if to warm them up. "Just remember, Ponyboy. You forced my hand." I started to get a little nervous at his words.

My nervousness swiftly grew into shocked surprise when I found the bed at a sharp slant and me rolling off onto the floor opposite of Soda.

"Umph!" I let out as the breath was knocked out of me. I rolled onto the floor with a dull thud. I shot to my feet with anger blazing in my eyes. I found my happy-go-lucky brother with a cheeky grin on his godlike face and our mattress in two hands. He chuckled as he plopped it back onto its frame. "What the hell was that for, Soda?" I shouted at him.

"You wouldn't get up," he replied, relaxed like always. "Your actions spurred me to do it. So it's technically your fault that you were so suddenly awakened." I lunged at him. We landed on the lost comforter and pillows as we wrestled it out. My anger grew into mock annoyance as I wrestled my brother into submission. We wrestled for three minutes until Darry, Steve, and Dally raced into our room to see what the commotion was about. Dally and Steve started to laugh while Darry shook his head and did a face-palm.

"Okay, break it up," he said as he started to pull us apart. I was laughing as Darry grabbed me by the waist and hauled me to my feet. Soda was heaving for breath on the floor. He looked up at me with shining eyes. I left Darry's grasp to find some clothes to wear. I settled with some jeans and a grey T-shirt. When I turned around, Steve was smirking at Soda on the floor.

"You're going to let a kid beat you in a wrestling match? You've gotten weak, Soda."

I growled and shoved my way past Steve. "I'm not a kid," I muttered as I stepped into the kitchen.

"I'll show you weak," Soda said as he yanked Steve to the ground and they soon started to tussle. Darry held up his hands and stepped over the fighting boys.

"I'm done," he said and walked into the living room where Johnny and Two-bit sat eating cake. I groaned as I pulled out a small plate to fit my a slice. As expected, pieces were already missing. There were only three slices left. I hurriedly grabbed a slice and went to go grab a small glass of milk. At least my breakfast was somewhat healthy. I plopped down on the couch between Johnny and Two-bit and watched Mickey Mouse…again. I noticed Johnny flipping through my book that I was reading last night.

"You want to borrow the book, Johnny?" I asked as I scooped a forkful of cake into my mouth. Johnny looked over at me quickly and blushed, embarrassed that he was caught looking at something that didn't belong to him. He quickly leaned over and threw the book on the coffee table.

"Nah," he mumbled as his attention was turned to the TV. "Though, it did look interesting."

"Wouldn't it be cool if it actually happened, though?" I asked as I picked up the book and flipped through the pages. Johnny gave me a smile and returned to the television. Soda and Steve walked into the living room then, both out of breath.

"For the record," Steve said and I realized he was looking at me. "You are a kid."

I ground me teeth together. Why the hell did Steve always have to do this? Make fun and tease me? I shot him a dirty look and rose from my spot on the couch. I pushed my way through Soda and Steve and stomped my way into the kitchen where Darry was going through the mail.

"I'm not," I stated again. I threw my plate into the sink and set the book on the counter as I whipped around to face him. "And I have proven that time and time again by being able to take care of myself," I stated with acid on my tongue. Darry snorted incredulously.

"Right."

My eyes shot to him with confusion. He was staring at a piece of paper in his right hand. His jaw was taut and his eyes were slowly starting to blaze into a cold fire that his eyes resembled. I gulped audibly. I knew that look all too well. He was slowly starting to get irate over something…and I knew it involved me. What did I do this time? Darry turned to glower at me.

"So that's way you failed math and chemistry this year? I thought you were able to take care of yourself," he mocked. My expression must have given off my bewilderment because he raised the piece of paper so I could see it. "Your final grades came in the mail today," he explained. I bit my lip and looked down at the floor. Darry eyed me carefully. "Do you know why you failed?" he asked me.

Of course I did. I failed because I honestly didn't care enough for those two subjects. I didn't need those two classes for what I wanted to be. An author. Why the hell would I need math and science? To count how many words I wanted to use in a story? Of course I couldn't tell Darry that.

"No," I muttered as I continued to stare at the floor. Everyone was silent as they waited to see what Darry would do next. I already knew what was going to happen next. I had this whole routine down to heart.

"No?" Darry asked for clarification. I didn't respond. He slowly got up from his chair. The grating noise it created was all too familiar. "Damn it, Pony!" Darry shouted. My eyes connected to his blazing ice orbs. He was none too happy. "What have I told you about keeping your grades up?"

I flared my nostrils as his words sparked a flare of anger which quickly grew into a wildfire. I returned his glare with a vile scowl of my own. "I failed two classes!" I shouted at him. "What's the big deal? I have straight A's in all of my other classes! Can't you give me credit for that?"

"You don't get praises if you mess up, Pony," Darry responded. I was visibly fuming now.

"God!" I shouted as loud as I dared. I stomped my way to the front door. "Why can't you just let me be? Isn't it enough work to sit and listen to you rag on me all the time? I'm done! You here me? Done! I want out!"

"Out where?" Darry shouted behind me. I whipped my head around to face him.

"Out of this damn hellhole that is my life," I continued my way to the door as Soda stepped in my way, his arms slightly open to restrain me. "Get out of my way, Soda," I growled. Soda's face was a mixture of cheerless hope and a bit of rage.

"You're not leaving this house," he stated in a calm voice. "You both are going to sit down and talk this over calmly and collectively. Then we'll decide where to go from there." I narrowed my eyes into slits.

"So, what? You're taking his side?" I asked him. "Some big brother you are," I spat. Soda's face altered in an instant. The only thing I saw on his normally jubilant face was hurtful pain. A sliver of guilt slid down my spine as I realized I just hurt my closest brother, but a part of me decided not to care. I pushed my way past Sodapop and ran outside to escape anyone else who wanted to confront me.

I walked down the street to try to calm myself. I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket and lit it with my lighter. I took a long drag as I made my way to the park. I climbed on the monkey bars and sat on the top, thinking of a way to apologize to Soda for my wounding words. I breathed in the crisp morning air. The air was helping clear my head a little. I was able to think clearly after a few minutes. I knew it was inacceptable to fail two classes, but I just hated Darry yelling at me all the time. Mom would have been disappointed if she saw my grades and Dad would have reacted sort of like the way Darry did. I sighed halfheartedly.

I looked around at my surroundings. I frowned at what I saw. Rusty metal was all over the play sets. Weeds grew all over the place. Trash littered the land wherever I looked. That was the life of a Greaser. Trash, trash, and more trash. I would bet a million dollars the parks on the south side were a lot cleanlier and shiny. That is if I had a million dollars. I groaned. I meant what I said in the house. I wanted to get away from it all. Even if it is for a little while.

"Do you mean that?" a voice called out. I jumped at the sudden noise and looked quickly behind me. A cloaked man was standing on the grass just below me. That struck me as odd. Who wears cloaks anymore? Was this guy just coming back from a Shakespeare play or something? The hood was down so I could see his face clearly. He had light brown hair that was just long enough to cover his eyes with a few strands. He had no grease in his hair, so I knew he wasn't one of us. Grease was our trademark and we wore it proudly. It was also too messy for him to be classified as a Soc. He had piercing dark green eyes. It seemed like I could fall into them and never find the bottom. His nose was straight and narrow and it curved gently to form two perfect nostrils at the bottom. His lips were full and a dark pink. They were currently curved upwards in a quirky smirk as he continued to stare at me. I immediately noticed his high cheek bones and sharp planes of his face. He looked about 18 or 19 years old. The rest of his body was hidden by a heavy cloak that had the shade of smoke. That caught me off guard. It was the middle of summer. A cloak was hardly necessary. I knew intuitively that this guy wasn't from around here.

"Um…what?" I asked cautiously, instinct telling me to be careful. His gaze didn't waver as he continued to stare into my gray-green eyes.

"I asked if you meant what you said," he stated clearly. I took another minute to compose myself enough to reply. I situated myself so I was able to look straight down at him and be able to make a quick escape if needed. His smirk widened.

"Who are you?" I asked him, my voice guarded. I didn't trust him in the least. He flashed me a quick smile and leaned against the monkey bars. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. He looked perfectly at ease.

"That's irrelevant," he said. "Did you mean what you said?" he repeated.

"I'm not answering anything until you tell me who you are," I stated coldly, not budging to bend to his will. He shrugged.

"Fine. My name is Chase Solace," he said without hesitation.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you to never tell your name to strangers?" I bit back bitterly. His presence was making me on edge.

"Uh-uh," he said. "I answered one of your questions, now you answer mine." He started to walk slowly around the monkey bars. It reminded me of a tiger stalking its prey, looking for some kind of weak point. I gulped silently. "Did you honestly mean what you said?" he asked as he continued to slowly walk around me in a slow circle. "To get away from your troubles? To be so far away that you don't even have to pretend to care about your problems? To be free of your worries here?" he hissed.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked him vigilantly. He didn't answer and I knew it was because I still hadn't answered his question. I looked quickly in the direction of my house. This was insane. Here I was, listening to some nutcase in a cloak ramble about if I meant something that I said while I was seething at my brother. This guy must be insane. I looked back at Chase, who stopped circling me. He was still staring at me with those deep, dark green eyes.

"Why does it even matter?" I answered his question with one of my own. "There's no way I can go anywhere. Just to inform you of a small little detail that you might have forgotten about, I need money in order to go anywhere. And I don't have it. And besides, I don't plan on going anywhere with someone I don't even know, let alone trust."

He crossed his arms again as he continued to gaze at me. "I never said I was going to travel with you. I was just asking if you ever wanted to leave this place and your troubles behind in the dust. You don't even need a single penny in order to do it, either." He winked at me then. I flinched back and shook my head.

"You don't even know me," I stated, determined to get rid of this guy. I jumped down from my perch on the monkey bars and started walking home. My brothers would just love this story. Especially Two-bit. I heard Chase scoff behind me.

"I know more things about you than probably even you do, Ponyboy Michael Curtis."

My feet froze right where they lay. How the hell did this guy know my name? He didn't look familiar, so I knew I have never met him before. I turned slowly around to look at him. He was swinging on the swing set across from the monkey bars. Loud squeaks were coming from the rusted metal links as he flew high up into the air and then fell back down to earth. "Have you been spying me or something?" I asked, my anger starting to return. He watched me casually from beneath his lashes.

"No. Not really."

"Then how the hell do you—" I began to rant but he cut me off with a raised hand.

"That is also irrelevant."

"Irrelevant my **!" I shouted in his face. "How long have you been stalking me? Do you have cameras set up in my house? Do you only spy on me or do you like to check in on my brothers every now and then? Do you watch me in the bathroom?" I shuddered as I asked my last question. Chase remained silent throughout my whole tirade. When I was done talking, he opened his mouth to speak but it wasn't to answer my probing questions.

"I am here to offer you an interesting proposition," he began. I remained mute. "I am offering you a chance to get away from here. To fly free and be who you are and do whatever you want without collateral damage. I just need to know if this is what you really want in order for it to come true."

"Where would I go?" I asked meekly. He shrugged. Very reassuring.

"You choose. It could be the moon or the lost city of Atlantis. The answer is where your heart truly desires where it wants to be."

"No man has set foot on the moon." I muttered with disbelief.

"You could be the first."

I sighed and looked in to his eyes again. "How would you take me anywhere that my heart desires?" I asked. That sounded a little cliché to me, like I've heard it before.

He smiled slyly. "Ah, a magician can't reveal his secrets."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're in a cloak?"

He chuckled but didn't answer. "Do you want to leave?" he asked one final time.

I looked around. Again, all I saw was trash and rust. Dirt. That's what we were usually called by Socs. I looked into the streets the bordered the park on four sides. Old and broken down cars lined the sidewalks here and there. I looked at my feet. This wasn't much of a life. Always living in fear of being jumped. Crimes happening beneath my nose. I shook my head. I wanted to get away from it. Even if it's for a little while. I could always return if I wanted to, right? I looked up at Chase as he stood patiently for me to decide. I nodded curtly.

I've decided.

He smiled widely like he won a priceless prize. "Okay then." He clapped his hands together. The image of Soda trying to wake me up this morning skittered across my mind. "It's all decided then."

"What do I need to do?" I asked him. I could feel the atmosphere moving with something other than wind. The leaves on the trees remained still but I could feel the air moving around me at a fast pace, stirring to the dead center of the park.

"You just need to close your eyes and think of the place you really want to go to," Chase replied. His focus was on the moving air, his arms and fingers outstretched as if to grab something at any moment. I nodded and closed my eyes. I tried to rack my brain for a place where I could leave my troubles behind. I thought of the camping site my brothers, parents, and I went to every summer up until Mom and Dad died. I shook my head. I wanted a place that I have never been to before. I thought deeper. My book flashed in my mind and I smiled. Yes. That's exactly where I wanted to be. I thought hard of the setting in the book.

"Ready?" Chase asked after a moment. I nodded and opened my eyes. I gasped involuntarily. There was a large black hole in the center of the park. The edges were tinged with gold and red. I was frozen in place with what I was seeing. Chase walked behind me. He settled his hands on the tops of my arms as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Have fun, Pony. And remember…" He paused for a second. "Be careful of what you wish for." He suddenly shoved me towards the spinning black hole. I screamed as the air carried me into its center. I felt my body being pulled deeper and deeper inside. I was able to see Chase waving me off with a smirk on his face before darkness veiled my sight. It was soon suffocating inside. I could hardly breathe. Great. I was going to die of strangulation while blind. I cursed myself for trusting a complete stranger who stalks me. I started to cry; sobs making my body shake as I was continuously being pulled into nothingness. The knowledge of never seeing the gang again flooded my head. Of never seeing my brothers again. Another sob shook me.

What have I just done?


	3. Realization

Chapter 3

Realization

Soda POV

I glared at Darry as he slowly sat back down at the table. The rest of the gang sensed that it was time to go. Darry started shuffling through the mail again, but I noticed that he didn't meet my accusing glare.

"Don't look at me like that," he stated with a low voice. "Pony knows better than to fail classes."

I huffed at him. "He's a kid, Darry," I said as I walked over to him. "He makes mistakes. I make mistakes! Everyone makes mistakes! Even you do, Darry." He still didn't meet my gaze. I sat down across from him. "You promised," I reminded him. "You promised me that you wouldn't fight with him over trivial details." At that, his eyes shot to mine.

"Failed grades are not trivial, Soda!" he shouted at me. "He's going to have to make up for the credits that he lost, which means he's going to fall behind his class. That could easily mean a late graduation, which colleges do not like."

My eyes narrowed. "He's a kid, Darrel. He has his whole life ahead of him to do what he wants. Why can't you just let him be the fifteen-year-old he is?"

"Because he needs to grow up," Darry stated coldly. He wrenched to his feet to throw the mail away. "He needs to learn that life isn't a damn game. And the sooner he learns that, the better off he'll be."

I stared at my older brother, completely baffled. I slowly stood up from my chair. "I can not believe you just said that."

Darry remained silent.

"I thought you would let him be a kid while he still has a chance. Considering that you had to grow up almost instantaneously when Mom and Dad died. I would think that you would want to give him an opportunity that you were so cruelly robbed of." I started walking towards the front door, a fire blazing in my eyes. "I guess I was wrong. You want him to be a cold jackass as soon as possible."

I left Darry with my words hanging in the air for him to grab and think about where I'm coming from. I knew I shouldn't have been that harsh, but he can't deny that fact. He yelled at Ponyboy because he failed only two classes, while the others had A's. That's more than what I could say for my grades. A lot more. I'm not saying that Pony failing any class is acceptable, but Darry should give him a little credit. Ponyboy is a year ahead of his class. I think Darry forgot about that little tid-bit of information. If Pony fails this year, he wouldn't actually be behind. He'd be where he would normally be.

A scream cut off my thoughts like a light switch. All the blood drained from my face and a cold sweat broke throughout every pore in my body. I recognized that shrill sound of petrified fear. I heard it every night for months after Mom and Dad died in bed. And the nights when Johnny was the hospital with a broken back. I raced into the street, cutting off a truck that was in my path. It honked as it slammed on its brakes, but I didn't give it a second thought. I raced to where the scream originated from. I found my feet taking me towards the park. Scenes of the night when Johnny killed Bob flashed themselves in my mind's eye. I made my feet go faster.

When I reached the park, I looked around frantically to see something, expecting the worst. When I found nothing out of place, I started to relax a little. But only fractionally. I looked around suspiciously. I knew with dead certainty that Ponyboy's scream came from this spot. My eyes landed on a boy that looked about my age, swinging on the swing set. I walked cautiously towards him.

I've never seen him before. I started to wonder if he was new in the neighborhood, but quickly banished the thought. He didn't seem to dress like this rest of us, with ripped jeans and T-shirts. He also didn't have any grease in his hair. He wasn't a Greaser, that's for. I didn't think he was a Soc, either. He didn't give off the attitude most Socs carried around them like some kind of second skin. And besides, he looked perfectly relaxed and calm, unlike other Socs. They would be in our territory for only two reasons; 1) they would be looking for a fight or 2) they were drunk and just happened to stumble into our territory. This guy didn't look like either.

"Hey!" I shouted to get his attention.

"Hello," he responded, but he didn't meet my eyes. He continued to swing higher and higher. I crept up closer to him.

"You from around here?" I asked him timidly. He shrugged.

"You could say that." What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What's your name?"

"Chase Solace."

Well, he seems to cooperate easy enough. I took another step forward. I was now standing right in front of him and to the left so I wouldn't get kicked in the face. "I'm Sodapop Curtis," I allowed. He looked at me for a minute and then continued to swing. "I know. Weird name. My dad picked it out." He nodded but didn't say anything. I waited a minute for him to make some sort of response but he just continued swinging. I decided to get right down to the chase.

"Listen, have you seen a fifteen-year-old kid around? His name is Ponyboy Curtis? He looks somewhat like me, only a little more of a dirty-blonde hair color?" I searched his face for some kind of reaction to see if he's seen my brother at all. It remained smooth as marble. He suddenly dragged his feet on the ground to slow his speed until he came to a complete stop. He continued to sit as he pointed to the center of the park.

"As a matter of fact, I have seen your brother." Chase replied with an easy smile. My heartbeat picked up rapidly.

"Where?" I asked frantically.

"Last time I saw him, he went in that direction." He replied with a smirk, as if he was remembering an inside secret. I looked in the direction of his finger, which was still pointed in the direction of the center of the park. I soon realized that he must be pointing to the street right across from it. I knew that with a few turns here and there, that street lead to the movie house. I rolled my eyes at myself. I should have known. But that last time I remembered, Pony didn't have any money with him. Maybe he just wanted see what movies were coming out. I nodded and looked at Chase to thank him, but when I looked at him, he was staring intently at me. I was momentarily lost in his deep green eyes. It looked like he held a thousand secrets in his eyes. I looked down quickly.

"Thanks," I said. I raced away from him towards the movie house. I heard him chuckle, a deep throaty laugh that reached to the very marrow of my bones.

"Anything I can do to help," he called from behind me. I couldn't help but notice a double meaning to his words. As I raced to find Ponyboy, I came to realize one thing.

This wasn't the last time I was going to see Chase Solace.


	4. Lost

Chapter 4

Lost

Pony's POV

It seemed like I was falling forever and a day in this blackness, the air being sucked up from my lungs. I was still cursing at myself for trusting Chase when suddenly, my falling came to a screeching halt and I fell out the bottom of the hole. I landed stomach first on very dry, very hard concrete. For the second time today, I had the wind knocked out of me. I lay there, trying to catch my breath and thanking God for helping me escape that damned black hole. As soon as I get up, I'm going to tell the gang about Chase and we could figure out what we could do about him.

"Are you alright, young man?" a man asked as he knelt down beside me to help me get up.

"Yeah," I muttered as I pulled myself to my feet. I put my head in my hands to try to clear my nausea. I put my left hand on my stomach to quell my shaking insides. I felt utterly lightheaded. The man who helped me up held on to me by my elbow. I heard him chuckle.

"Where the hell did you come from?" he asked me. I didn't respond, trying my best to not throw up on the guy who helped me get to my feet. "One minute, I'm sitting on the bus bench, reading a newspaper, and the next, a kid comes falling from the sky!"

My breathing stopped. What the hell was this guy talking about? I slowly raised my head to look at the man still holding me by the elbow. My sight was blurry, fuzzy around the edges. My head was spinning from the lack of air in the tunnel I was just in. I could only see a dark, fuzzy silhouette of the man looking at me.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked me. When I didn't respond, he hurried me to the bench he was presumably sitting on. "Here, sit down and put your head between your knees. Breathe slowly through your mouth and out your nose."

I followed his instructions without complaint. I immediately started to feel the nausea dissipate. I continued to breathe calmly as the guy continued to talk. "You gave me a scare, kid. First, you're falling from the sky and now it looked like you were going to pass out on me." He chuckled again. When I was absolutely positive that I wasn't going to puke, I looked at the man.

I have never seen him before. He looked about mid-20s to early 30s. He was wearing a dark grey suit with a silver tie around his neck. His hair was a very short buzz cut. He had on small rectangular glasses. I've never seen them rectangular before. I looked around at my surroundings. I was definitely not at home. Houses lined the streets in front of me. Fences prevented anyone for crossing into their yards. And they weren't little picket fences. Oh, no. They were huge barriers about six feet up into the air. I also noticed that the houses didn't look anything like the ones at home. These were made from brick, not the splintered wood that my neighborhood had. Also different from my territory, this place seems clean and organized. I couldn't see one piece of trash in the streets or on the carefully manicured grass that lined the sides of the sidewalks on both sides. A median centered in the middle of the road separated the oncoming lanes from congregating together. It was filled with trees and bushes that were just as impeccably taken care of as the grass behind me.

I shook my head, the ache starting to return. Where the hell was I? I looked at the man, the concerned look starting to ease away from his face. I took in two shaky breaths and then cleared my throat. I closed my eyes and concentrated on not puking as I slowly raised my head. My eyes were still closed as I grasped the bench beneath me. I needed something to hold me steady as I asked my question.

"Excuse me, Mister," I started slowly. "Could you please tell me what today is?"

"Mister?" the man asked. "No one has called me that before. It's Wednesday."

I rolled my eyes. It was Wednesday when I first got sucked into that black hole. I sighed and clarified my question.

"I meant the date."

He was silent for a minute and I chanced a glance at him beneath my lashes. He was looking at me like I was out of my mind.

"It's the 28th of July."

"What's the year?"

"2010."

I sucked in a breath like someone slugged me in the stomach. I lost my grip on the bench and fell face first into the grey concrete.

"Easy, there!" the man shouted at me as he helped me to my feet for the second time today. I was too busy trying to control my breathing as he sat me back down. I put my head between my knees again and breathed slowly in my mouth and out my nose.

"Are you alright…?"

"Ponyboy," I gasped out my name.

"Ponyboy?"

I didn't give him any mind as I tried to figure things out in my head. If my calculations were correct, then I have arrived at my destination exactly forty-five years into the future. I'm supposed to be sixty years old right now! I groaned as I felt my stomach heave.

"Do I need to take you to the hospital? I think you need a doctor."

No. What I needed was a psychiatrist. I needed someone professional to prove to me that I haven't lost my mind. I shook my head at the man's question. I needed to figure things out before I get mixed up with things like hospitals and authorities, like adults. I slowly rose to my feet again. The man mimicked my movements exactly. I looked him square in the eye as I pulled my poker face into place.

"Thank you for helping me, but I really need to get going. Bye." I quickly started to walk away from him before he asked anything else that involved some deep lying. What was I supposed to tell him? That I'm from forty-five years from the past and that I'm technically older than him? If I told him that, he would actually fulfill my desire for a shrink to tell me that I'm not nuts. As I walked down the street, I noticed cars zooming by me. Some of them I recognized, like a Chevy pickup truck, though these cars looked sleek and…weird. Other cars I had trouble identifying. There was a car that literally looked like a metal box on four wheels. When it passed me, noticed on the front grill, the word KIA was placed dead center. On the back, the word SOUL was bolted in. I couldn't help but notice the lime green color of the car.

As I walked down the street, I noticed a McDonalds on the corner. We had a few in Tulsa, but they never looked like this. The building was huge. The first thing I noticed was the PLAYLAND banner spread across the glass wall. Behind it, as promised, was a play land. It was as tall as the building it was inside of. I saw multiple colored tubes and a few slides for the kids to play on. The second thing I noticed was that the parking lot was barren except for a few cars in the small parking spots. Most of the cars were in line around the corner of the building. I noticed it was a drive-thru. I furrowed my eyes. Why wait in a big line full of cars when you could sit and relax inside?

My curiosity got the best of me and I decided to go inside. It beat walking around aimlessly and looking completely lost, which wasn't very far from the truth. As I walked in, I noted that the inside was as crowded as the parking lot. I looked to the front of the store and noticed a teenager behind the register. She was popping and chewing her gum with an open mouth as she gave me a once over. When her analysis was done, she gave me a sneer and popped her gum. Her nametag had letters spelled out to form AMBER. I smiled quickly and took a seat next to the window. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

How could this happen? How the hell could I magically end up forty-five years into the future? What did Chase do? How do I get back? Can I even get back? I desperately needed answers for my frenzied questions.

"Hey!" someone shouted.

My head rose to find Amber staring right at me.

"Are you going to order something or not?" Her sneer was still in place as she continued to look me over again.

"No thank you," I said as politely as I could. She snorted.

"Then get out."

"Excuse me?" I asked, her attitude starting to annoy me. What was her problem?

"Company policy. Either you order something or get out. We don't want solicitors hanging around doing ** they're not supposed to do."

My eyes widened. I've heard swearing before. My ears are not innocent by any measure. But hearing her say that word…and the way she said it…it sounded so vulgar. I've never heard a girl say that word before. The Greaser girls back home always had mouths on them, but not like that. I nodded curtly and squared my jaw.

"Fine," I spat. "I'll have a Pepsi. Small."

She typed my order in into her register.

"Is that all?"

I nodded again. She sighed and pressed a few more buttons. "That will be a dollar forty-nine, please."

I almost fell face first again. A dollar forty-nine for a small Pepsi? Hell, when I went to the movie house, I could get two small popcorns and a large Pepsi, all for seventy-five cents! I thanked the good Lord that I had five bucks in my pocket. I walked up to Attitude Amber and handed her two dollars. She eyed the money for a second and then put it into the slots. She gave me back my change and rang in my order to the other workers in the back. I looked at my fifty cents as I waited. The dimes and nickels looked a lot shinier and new than the ones at home. I quickly learned that this era seems to like sleek, shiny, and new things.

"One Pepsi." Amber said lazily. I grabbed my cup and walked back to my seat. This couldn't be a small Pepsi. It looked too big. It looked about a large to me. I turned around and told Attitude Amber that I ordered a small Pepsi, not a large. She sniffed and grabbed a large cup from beside her.

"This is a large, dude." She informed me.

Dude? What the hell is a dude? As I looked at the cup in her hand, my eyes started to bug out again. I could barely lock my whole hand around that cup! I glanced at the apparently small Pepsi and nodded. Yep, this was a small. As I continued to walk to my seat, a reoccurring thought kept rocking in the inside of my skull.

Where the hell was I?


	5. Notes

Chapter 5

Notes

Soda's POV

I walked to the DX station with a crease in my forehead. I was unable to locate my dear little brother anywhere! When I ran to the movie house, I was sure that I would find Pony standing outside looking at Paul Newman posters. When I got to the front of the theatre, it had a huge CLOSED sticker on the ticket booths and the doors. Apparently, the owners were doing renovations inside to make the theatre rooms a little bigger. Plus, there were no posters out on display. As I walked back to the park, I tried to convince myself that when Pony saw that the theatre was closed, he decided to get back to the house. A voice in the back of my head told me that I was lying to myself.

When I saw the park in view, I ran to find Chase and ask if he saw Pony run in this direction. When I got to the park, Chase Solace was nowhere to be found. I ran to the house to see if Ponyboy was at home, but once again, he was gone. I looked at the clock and realized that Steve was waiting for me at work and I hurried to get dressed. Darry already left to go finish Roberts's roof, so he wasn't able to see my growing paranoia etched into my face. I didn't need to worry him…yet.

"Hey, Soda!" Steve called out when I walked around to the back of the DX station. Steve was currently working under the hood of a car. A yellow 1964 Corvette Stingray. A beauty of a car. Though, personally, I would have chosen a different color scheme. Red is more preferable.

"Hey, Steve," I said sullenly as I picked up a wrench. I crawled under the body of an old Impala and started working. Steve heard my tone and immediately turned his head in my direction.

"What's up?" he asked me. When I didn't answer his question, he grabbed my ankle and rolled me out from underneath the car. "I said, what's up?" he asked slowly. I shook my head and tried to get back to work, but he had a firm hold on my leg.

"Steve, let go. I need to work," I muttered. He only responded by tightening his grip.

"Not until you tell me what's eating you, Sodapop. And don't you dare tell me nothing is wrong," he warned me. I debated on if I should tell Steve or not. Steve and Pony weren't exactly the best of buddies. I sighed and decided to spill my guts.

"I can't find Pony anywhere," I admitted. Steve let go of me and listened. "I looked for him at the movie house, but the place was closed for renovations. He wasn't at the park or at the house. He's nowhere to be found."

Steve remained silent as I continued to talk. When I was done, he spoke softly.

"Maybe he's in the lot with Johnny," he offered me. "Did you check the lot, yet?" I shook my head.

"I had to get here so I wouldn't be late." Steve nodded as he stood up. He walked to the Stringray to continue his work. His voice was slightly muffled when he ducked his head under the hood.

"He's probably there."

"Probably," I muttered, but the knot in my stomach told me otherwise.

~b~

I took out the keys and locked the padlock to the garage when I was done with work. Steve already left, so that just left me to walk home alone. I had to settle one thing, though. I walked in the direction of the abandoned lot and as I got closer and closer to the fire pit, I immediately identified the black shape on the old couch. I gently shook him awake.

"Johnny," I murmured. I continued to gently shake him until his eyes fluttered open to look at me. A lazy smile spread across his face when his dark brown eyes met my faint green ones.

"Hey, Soda," Johnny said slowly. I could tell that he's still not completely here because of his nap. His eyes were foggy with fatigue. Bags puffed out from underneath his large eyes.

"Hey, Johnny," I smiled. "I have a question to ask you."

Johnny flipped over onto his back as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm probably not going to be much help. I'm so damn tired."

I chuckled. "It doesn't require that much thinking. I promise."

"Okay, shoot."

"Have you seen Ponyboy at all today?" I asked cautiously. Johnny and Pony were rarely separable. I didn't want to worry Johnny too much. I still had to tell Darry. My tone was too paranoid for anyone to miss. Johnny looked at me with worried eyes as he shot upright into a sitting position.

"Not since this morning when he and Darry had that fight. Why? Have you not seen him either?"

"No. I haven't. And I've been looking all over this place for him." I sighed and bit the corner of my bottom lip. I glanced at Johnny to see his reaction. Like me, fear was starting to unveil itself in his chocolate eyes. I shook my head quickly to reassure him. "Don't worry, Johnny. He's probably at the house right now." Johnny didn't respond, though he started to calm down slightly. He nodded his head as he slowly lowered himself onto his back.

"Okay," Johnny said silently.

"Get some sleep and come to our house if you want to," I offered as I rose to my feet. He nodded again and closed his eyes. I walked slowly to the house. I might have reassured Johnny, but still haven't convinced myself that Pony was okay. I looked at my feet, anger suddenly blazing in the pit of my stomach. If Darry hadn't fought with Ponyboy over two failed classes, he would probably be at the house right now, reading his book. I exhaled in irritation.

A flicker of a shadow caught my eyes and I hurriedly looked forward to see what caused it. I saw a man standing next to my house, his arms folded across his chest. A smoky-grey cloak enveloped his shape, but the hood was down. In the diminishing sunlight, I distinguished the face as familiar. I shook my head absently. There was no why that Chase could know where I lived. I couldn't be him.

The man smirked at me and then raced down the street. He ran behind a truck and then he was gone. A shiver ran down my spine as I watched him do the paranormal. I expected fog to shroud the street at any moment. I took in a shaky breath and continued to walk towards the front door. As I got closer to the door, a spot of white caught my eye. I quickly realized that it was a small envelope taped to the door. My name was on the front in a beautiful script. Another shiver ran down my spine and it reached to the very tips of my fingers and toes. I pulled the envelope off with a shaky hand. I had difficulties with trying to rip it open. Inside, there was a crisp, white note. The handwriting was as elegant as my name on the envelope. I slowly unfolded it to read what it said.

Dear, Sodapop,

I know that you are worried about your brother, so please believe me when I say, don't be. He is safe…for the moment. Right now, I must ask you to trust me. If you do indeed want to know where your little brother is, meet me at the park tomorrow night when your older brother is asleep. And come alone. I only need your attention at the moment. Take care.

~C~

The note had me trembling even more. My brother is safe? For the moment? I had no idea what the hell that meant. Who was C? What all does he know? Why does he need my attention? Questions upon questions plagued my mind. All them were answerless. I knew as I reread the note over and over again, that I would get my answers tomorrow night in the park. I heard shuffling inside the house and I knew that Darry was up and pacing the living room floor. I attempted to put on a stone face to hide all my fears. I put the note in my back pocket, and I walked slowly inside.


	6. Makeover

Chapter 6

Makeover

Pony's POV

This is definitely not my era. Everything is so different here. The cars. The currency. Hell, even the people are different here. I learned rather quickly that in the year of 2010, people didn't really differentiate their social status. For example, back home, people knew we were Greasers with one look at us. There was no mistaking the slicked back hair, the ripped jeans and tennis shoes, and of course, the lack of money in our pockets. Socs were the same thing. You could always tell a Soc was a Soc by looking at the clean and pristine outfits they wore and the many jewelry items they would wear. And, who could forget the "I'm better than you" attitude?

Not here. You couldn't tell if someone has less money than the next person. Sure, there were subtle details, like when a person would wear more jewelry than the person they're standing next to. By the apparently designer items they would wear or carry with them. Or even their car would give off how wealthy a person is. But take away all the material possessions and you won't really see a difference.

But that's not what got me here. What got me was that everyone lived so…fast paced. Not one person stopped what they were doing and takes a look at what they have, to appreciate the beauty of life. Everyone was "go here, get work done, get out. Repeat." I have seen more cars at the drive-thrus at fast food places than at actual drive in movies back home! What happened?

Last night wasn't exactly the most comfortable night I have ever spent. I slept on a park bench. And even then, I only had, at the most, three hours of sleep. I still wasn't over the shock of being in a different time.

My sleep deprivation was catching up to me as I walked up to a shopping mall. The Oakridge Plaza, to be exact. And like everything else in this time, it was huge. A large brick building was splayed out before me. In front of it, there was a large parking lot. Judging by the amount of cars in the spaces, it was packed to the brim. I walked into the Kohls section of the mall. The first thing that greeted me were racks of clothing on either side of the linoleum path I was on. Straight ahead, there was a glass case full of what looked like watches. I ignored those and looked at the clothes.

There was a rack of brightly colored shirts that were apparently for teenage girls. I picked out a few to get a better look at them. One was a dark green shirt that had a saying on it. ITALIAN GIRLS ROCK.

Ooookay.

I replaced that one and grabbed another. This one read GOOD GIRL GONE BAD. Under that was a picture of a cartoon girl with long brown hair. On her head were red horns. She had a red tail curled around her outstretched legs and she was holding a pitchfork. Her left eye was closed in a winking position. I quickly put that one away and chose another. TAKE ME DRUNK. I'M HOME was written on a red halter top. I chuckled at that one.

"Do you need help?" a voice asked behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find a girl around my age staring at me. She had long brown hair that was slightly curled. Red highlights tinted her hair in streaks. She had large blue eyes that managed to look innocent and mischievous at the same time. A fan of black eyelashes surrounded her eyes. Her lips were full and a shiny pink. She was wearing a blue halter top that had very cursive hand writing. The words DO IT FOR JOHNNY were sprawled across her chest. Her top stopped a few inches above her belly button. My eyes zeroed in on what was pierced there. A thin chain about an inch and a quarter long dangled out of her navel. Two round jewels followed the silver string. At the end was a small red heart with an aquamarine jewel in the middle. She was wearing jeans that hugged her hips tightly. I followed them all the way down to her high-heeled clad feet. They were open-toed with a three-inch heel. A thin strap covered the bottom of her toes. I quickly raised my eyes to look at her.

"Why would you think I need help?" I asked defensively. This girl might be attractive…very attractive, but she was still a stranger I didn't trust. Her lips quirked up into a smirk as she swept her red-tinted hair behind her shoulders. I noticed that she was wearing earrings that matched her belly button piercing.

"You're looking at girl graphic T-shirts," she said. "The guys' shirts are over there." She pointed to the other side of the linoleum aisle I was standing on. "You are a guy, right?" she asked as she pushed her purse strap farther up her shoulder. I jerked my chin up and squared my jaw.

"The last time I checked, I was," I said bitterly.

"Sorry." She raised her hands up, her eyebrows shooting upwards. "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just teasing. Chill."

My eyebrows furrowed. Chill? Did I look like I was running a fever? She sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Do you want help picking out clothes or not? Because, and excuse me for being rude, but you need them," she looked me up and down. For a second, I was reminded of Amber back at McDonalds. "Who rolls up their jeans anymore? And where did you get those shoes?"

I looked down at my outfit. What was wrong with the way I dressed? I've always worn my jeans rolled up to the ankles. My shoes looked absolutely fine. What was she talking about?

"Ugh."

I looked up to see what was wrong. Her nose was wrinkled slightly. She was staring at my hair. "Do you even wash your hair?" she said, her voice utterly disgusted. Now, that went too far.

"I'm a Greaser," I replied tersely.

She looked at me like I spoke in a foreign language. "A what?"

"Greaser."

"What the hell is that?" she demanded. I rolled my eyes. It slipped my mind that I wasn't home and that things I know might not even exist in this time.

"Forget it," I muttered.

"You need a total makeover," she muttered as she looked me up and down again. Okay, this girl was starting to get on my nerves. I decided to go along with what she wanted just to get rid of her.

"Fine," I snapped.

She smiled and the action made it hard for me to carry any animosity towards her. It was incredibly good looking. She grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the boys' section.

"Great. The first thing we need to do is get a few new shirts. That ratty thing you have on has got to go." I looked down at my grey sleeveless T-shirt. It wasn't that ratty. We stopped at a rack of shirts. She immediately started sorting through all them, quickly skipping over the ones she didn't like. "What size are you?" she asked over her shoulder.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

She sighed, exasperated. "I guess we'll have to go with trial and error," she huffed. When her hands found purchase of a plain red shirt, she squealed. "I like this one." She ran over to me and held the shirt against my chest. Her glowing face fell slightly. "A little too small," she muttered to herself. She went back to the rack and started searching again. This time she found the same shirt, but only a little larger. She held it up against me. "Perfect," she purred. She tossed it to me. I looked at the price tag. $14.99. I jerked my head up.

"Umm…" I mumbled. I tried to think of her name, but I realized she hasn't offered it yet.

"Anastasia," she said without averting her attention from the shirts.

"Anastasia?" I questioned.

"Yeah. But my friends call me Anna because it can be a mouthful sometimes."

"Okay. Anna, I only have three dollars and fifty cents."

Anna pulled out a grey shirt that had CHICK spelled out. Below it was a picture of a magnet. What the hell does that mean? She grimaced and then put it back. "I'll pay," she said without hesitation. I shook my head quickly.

"No. No, don't pay. I don't need new clothes."

She looked at me from the corner of her eye. Her expression gave me a forewarning of what she was about to say. "Think again, buddy. You need new clothes."

"But—" she cut me off with a glare.

"I said I'll pay for it." She returned her attention back to the shirts. I sighed.

"Okay," I said, attempting to make a little conversation. "Since you're buying me things, I might as well give you my name." I watched as she pulled out another grey shirt. IF LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…SQUEEZE IT IN SOMEONE'S EYE AND HAUL **. I chuckled a little. "My name is Ponyboy."

Anna stilled for a moment and slowly looked over her shoulder at me. "Ponyboy?"

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

She shrugged one shoulder. "I like it. It's different." She threw the lemon shirt in my direction. I caught it with one hand and placed it on top of the red one. She kept scanning the rack of shirts. She giggled at a black one and held it up. "What do you think of this one?" she asked me as she held it up for my inspection. A picture of a chicken was on the front and under it there were words that said I DREAM OF A WORLD WHERE CHICKENS CAN CROSS ROADS WITHOUT HAVING THEIR MOTIVES QUESTIONED. I laughed at that one.

"I like it," I smiled.

"Good.'Cause you're getting it anyways." She tossed the shirt over to me.

In the end, I had ten different shirts piled in my arms. Anna returned her attention back to me. "Now you have to go try these on," she said with a big smile. When I didn't move, she gave me a quizzical glance. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know where the dressing rooms are," I admitted sheepishly. She raised her eyebrows.

"Have you never been to Oakridge before?" she asked me. Her tone gave away that the question was meant to be rhetorical, but I answered anyways.

"No, I have not."

She sighed again. She does that a lot, I noted. "Follow me," She said on the exhale. From her tone of voice, you would think she has lost all patience with humanity, but her eyes were shining brighter than before. This girl completely confused the hell out of me. She took a hold of my hand and yanked me towards the dressing rooms. As we continued to walk down the aisle, we passed numerous stands with jewelry, watches, and even toys for little kids. We stopped when we reached the corner of the store.

"Here we are," Anna said brightly. She shoved me forward. "Go try those on and come back so I can judge what looks good on you." She waved me forward. I rolled my eyes and walked into the dressing rooms. I picked an empty stall and set the shirts done on the little bench. I yawned as I pulled the red shirt over my head. I looked in the mirror.

I liked it.

I tried on the other shirts, occasionally showing Anna the ones I wasn't sure on. I ended up with five shirts.

"Now we need to get you some new jeans," Anna said as she put the other five shirts on a clothing rack just outside the dressing rooms. She took hold of my hand again as we started for the cashier. I tried to protest to her paying for me, but she warned me with another icy glare. She handed the cashier a credit card and we were soon out the door. I looked over my shoulder.

"You do know that there were jeans back there?" I questioned as we ventured further into the mall.

"Yes, but I don't like those jeans."

I rolled my eyes and kept my mouth shut the entire trip.

"So, Ponyboy," Anna said offhandedly. "Where you from?"

"I'm originally from Tulsa," I muttered slowly. She gave me glance over her shoulder. Her lips quirked up into that trademark smirk.

"A country boy, huh?" She laughed as we entered a new clothing store. All I could see were jeans. Nothing else. "This is the best place to get jeans, hands down."

We walked into the back of the store and Anna picked out a few pairs. They had an old faded look to them. We passed more jeans and I noticed that there were some pants that had rips and holes on the legs. I stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"Someone ripped these jeans," I told her as I pointed to the ruined pair. "We need to tell a store clerk."

As I walked towards the cashier's desk, Anna grabbed my arm. She was chuckling.

"No one ripped the jeans, Ponyboy. That's the style." She rolled her eyes. "Though I don't know who was dumb enough to think that's the new fad." She stuck her tongue out in a repugnant grimace. "Though, I do admit that they are better than skinny jeans. Whoever thought that those were cool seriously needs to get shot."

"What are skinny jeans?"

She shook her head. "I'll explain later. We need to try those on." She pointed to the pants I was currently holding in my hand. She paid for them. Again. We were soon out the door.

"I'm hungry," Anna said. She turned to me, the smirk still in place. "What about you?" As soon as she said the word "hungry," my stomach gurgled. I soon realized that I haven't eaten a thing since I came here. The last thing I ate was the chocolate cake for breakfast yesterday morning. Anna smiled when she heard my stomach rumble. "Okay, let's get to the food court." I was yanked onto an escalator. Anna never let go of my arm all the way to the food court. I looked over at her as she looked up at the food vendors, choosing which one she was hungry for.

Why would she decide to offer a complete stranger to buy him clothes? Were people today like that? Overly helpful, even if you didn't really want it? I knew back at home that if someone offered you to buy clothes for you, you would immediately be wary of their intentions. Anna bought me five shirts and three pairs of jeans. And she didn't look like she wanted anything in return. I sighed and looked down at my feet. I soon came to realize something.

She forgot to get my new shoes.


	7. Waiting For Answers

Chapter 7

Waiting For Answers

Soda POV

"Damn it, Soda!" Steve shouted at me while we were sitting in my living room. "At least fake a smile!" Steve huffed. "You've been down for two days! You're supposed to be the sunshine of the gang. You're not actin' like it right now."

I gave Steve a hard stare. "Well, excuse me for not feeling joyous right now." I muttered. "I guess the whole situation of Ponyboy just disappearing off the face of the earth is getting me down. I'm sorry, I'll try working on the whole sunshine bit as soon as I can."

Steve huffed. I rolled my eyes and continued staring at the television. Just a few more hours, and I will get all the answers I needed. I was a little anxious, though, I had to admit. But was all for Ponyboy. That's what mattered.

Dallas and Johnny walked behind the couch.

"Don't worry, Soda," Dally said as he sat on the coffee table across from me. "We'll find him. Stop worrying."

I stared as Dally. "Stop worrying?" I asked without emotion in my voice. "Stop worrying that my baby brother could be out there hurt. Or worse…?" I shook my head to rid myself of images of Pony's broken body lying in the street, battered and bloody.

"It'll be fine, Soda," Steve tried to soothe me. I continued to stare at the television.

"That's what you said the last time Ponyboy ran away. Then a Soc was killed and I didn't see Pony or Johnny for a week," I muttered. I noticed that Johnny flinched slightly when I mentioned the murder.

I heard Darry sigh. I looked over my shoulder at him. He was in the kitchen. He was looking out the kitchen window, his face somber. His fists were on either side of the sink. "Steve is right, Soda," Darry said stoically. "Worrying isn't going to do any good in trying to find Pony. If anything did happen to Pony…then…we would have seen something in the paper."

I shook my head. That didn't give me any comfort. The only thing that would console me the slightest would be when I get my answers tonight. I stood up off the couch and walked outside onto the porch. I straddled the railing, leaning my back against the pillar and stared out into the street. I needed to get away from Darry for a few minutes.

When I walked into the house last night, Darry was pacing the living room floor. Like me, he thought Pony would have been home by then. He looked up at me with a hopeful face. I grimaced and shook my head.

_~FLASHBACK~_

"Damn it!" Darry shouted to the sky. "Where the hell is he?"

"Why are you asking me?" I asked bitterly. "I'm just as clueless as you are."

I tried to stomp past him, but he grabbed my arm to stop me. "I'm sorry," Darry said gruffly. I gave him a cold stare. "I shouldn't have fought with him about his grades."

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me." I stared into his ice blue eyes. "You should apologize to Pony. Oh, that's right. He's not here because he ran AWAY!" I shouted at him. He dropped his hold on my arm, his eyes starting harden.

"You don't think I know that?" he hissed at me. "You don't think that I know he's gone and it's because I chased him away? Newsflash, Sodapop. I know what I did. I know that if Ponyboy is lying dead in a gutter right now because some Soc jumped him, it's on my hands."

I flinched back when Darry brought up the idea of Pony being dead. I growled and crossed my arms in front of my chest. "If you could have just let those damn grades go, he would probably be in our room, reading that damn book. But, no. You had to get all high and mighty and yell at him, even though he has straight A's in all of his other classes! You couldn't have just tell him that you were disappointed in the two failed grades, but thrilled that he kept his other grades up."

Darry sighed, his expression agonized. He turned his back to me and took three steps forward. His clawed at his face with his nails. "I know," Darry muttered so softly, I had troubles hearing him. "I know, I know, I KNOW! I don't know what happened. I guess I saw the two F's and thought that Pony was slowly starting on the path towards a hellhole life. I want him to succeed in life, to grab the offers in life that I had no choice but to decline."

It was silent for a few minutes. Darry's back was stilled turned towards me as he asked, "Do you have any idea where he could be? A smidget of a clue in any direction?"

The note in the back of my pocket suddenly felt like a dead weight. I could feel it burning a hole in my pocket. I placed my right hand on top of it, expecting to feel warmth there. I was glad that Darry's back was turned so he didn't see the hesitation on my face. "No," I said softly. "I don't have anything to offer."

I raced away from Darry to hide in my room.

~FLASHBACK~

I took out the note that was still in my pocket. It had many creases in it from me opening it too many times. I glanced at the words again, the elegant script taunting me, mocking me. I looked at the street again as cars passed the house. My mind was set stubbornly.

Tonight, I'm going to meet this C, and if I find out that he did anything with my brother, he's a dead man.


	8. Lesson

Chapter 8

Lesson

Pony POV

"So tell me about yourself, Ponyboy." Anna asked me while we were sitting in the food court. Bags of Chick-fila were spread out on the table we were sitting at. "I already know that you're from Tulsa. What else is there to learn?" Anna smirked as she stuffed a French fry into her mouth.

I let my sandwich drop from my hands onto the little pouch it was in and grabbed a napkin. What could I tell her that wouldn't land me into a mental ward? I cleared my throat and looked into her deep blue eyes.

"Well," I began, stalling. "My name is Ponyboy Michael Curtis. I'm sixteen years old. My birthday is July 22nd. I have two older brothers. Sodapop is the middle child. He's eighteen. And Darry is the oldest at twenty-one." I cleared my throat and tried to look for more trivial details of my life. "I like to read and watch the sunset," I concluded.

Anna looked at me carefully, as if she was actually listening to me. That has never happened to me before. The only people who cared for the words that came through of my lips were Johnny and Soda. She nodded absently as she picked up another fry. She dipped it into a little container of ranch and bit the end of it off, her eyes thoughtful.

"And what of your parents?" she asked me. She continued to stare at me with her ocean deep blue eyes. I sighed.

"They're dead," I mumbled. I saw Anna flinch back slightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. It was silent for a minute. "If you don't mind me asking, how did they die?"

"A train hit their car when they were heading home. Killed them instantly."

"I'm sorry," Anna said again.

"It's okay."

"But wait," Anna said, her eyes confused. "If you're parents passed away, who do you live with?"

"My brothers."

"Makes sense," Anna nodded. She grabbed her chicken sandwich and took a big bite. I could tell that she didn't know what else to say, so I took the initiative to continue the conversation.

"What about you?" I asked her. She looked up at me as if she was surprised to hear my voice.

"Nothing interesting," she muttered. She rolled her eyes and began. "Well, my name is Anastasia Marie Moore. My friends call me Anna. I live with my mom and dad and younger brother. I'm sixteen years old. My birthday is March 27th. I like to read and shop." Her smirk slowly made a presence on her face. My eyebrows rose.

"You like to read?" I asked, astonished. She nodded. "I've never known a girl who likes to read."

She huffed. "Not all girls are girly-girly prisses," she groaned. "I mean, sure, I like to shop and I sometimes get grossed out by bugs, and I like to paint nails and do my hair. But I also like to read, play football, draw, and on very rare occasions, moon random people on the street." Her face was scrunched up in anger, her hands balled into fists.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. My hands were raised to show my surrender. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just saying that the girls I know are all too…girly-girly to do things like read."

She started to calm a bit. "Sorry, I just get a little sensitive when it comes to that kind of stuff." It was silent again, the stillness a bit awkward. Anna jumped fractionally with a slight gasp. She reached down to pull out a small black box from her back pocket. She tapped the face of the box once and then hesitated. I heard her sigh as she brought the box closer to her face. Her thumbs were tapping wildly on the box. She glanced over my shoulder and then continued tapping. With one last strike of her thumb, she set the box down on the table and grabbed a French fry. I stared at the box.

"What is that?" I asked her when she didn't say anything.

"What's what?" she asked without meeting my eyes.

I pointed my finger to the box. "That." She looked at where my index finger was directed at. She raised  
her eyebrows.

"You mean my phone?" she asked me, bewilderment coloring her features.

Phone? That didn't look much like a phone. "Where's the cord?" I asked her, my eyes still on the box. When she didn't answer, her eyes were bugged out like I had three heads. "What?" I asked, self conscious.

"Cord?" she clarified. I nodded like that was obvious. She was still looking at me weirdly. "Cell phones don't have cords," she said pointedly. Cell phone?

"What are cell phones?" I asked innocently. She continued to stare at me for a moment and then her hand made harsh contact with her face with a loud slap.

"You seriously don't know what a cell phone is?" she asked me, her face hidden beneath her hand. "You don't know what a cell phone is. You don't know what skinny jeans are. And you dress all bizarrely. Have you been living under a rock for the past ten years or something?" She yanked the cell phone and handed it to me. "Here. This is a cell phone. It does all the things a normal phone can, but only with a little bit more."

I took the phone tentatively from her outstretched hand. It had a plastic cover with a few scratches on the screen. There were only three buttons on it. On the left there was a silver button with a picture of a phone facing downwards. The button on the right was the same thing, but underneath the phone there was a small silver circle under it. The button in the middle was long and thin. On it, there was a curved arrow that pointed backwards. Above the three buttons, there was one word. SAMSUNG was spelled out in small letters. There was a small rectangular hole on top of the screen. Underneath, there was a picture of a circle with five lines running across it. Next to the circle were three letters. AT&T.

I slowly pushed the button on the right down. The screen lit up instantly, a picture of a beach shore present. I jumped slightly at the sudden glow. I heard Anna cough slightly and I knew she was trying to cover a chuckle that was stuck in her throat. I squared my shoulders and pushed the button again. This time, a picture of the night sky was glowing on the screen.

"Wasn't there just a picture of a beach there?" I asked Anna. She smiled.

"The picture changes every time the screen goes black," she explained. I nodded and looked down at the phone. It had gone black again. I pushed it one more time, this time a picture flower petals graced the screen. In the bottom left, it showed the date. July 26th, 2010. My head started to get lightheaded again. In the bottom right hand corner it showed the time. It was currently 11:34 a.m. In the top left corner, a sentence was scrawled out.

"To unlock, press LOCK key above," I repeated the sentence with confusion.

"The button is on top of the phone," Anna instructed. I looked over at her. She was relaxed into her chair, her sandwich in her right hand. Her left arm was draped carelessly over the back of her seat. I tipped the phone a little to look at the top. Sure enough, a button with the word LOCK was on top. I pushed the button and instantly the screen began to glow.

On the screen, there was a picture of two girls. The one on the left was obviously Anna. The girl she was standing next to had long blonde hair with light hazel eyes. A few freckles littered her face, but other than that, her skin was flawless.

"Her name is Harmony," Anna drawled. Her voice was a bit muffled from the bite of the sandwich she took. She immediately reminded me of Two-bit. I looked back to the box. On the top right of the screen, the time was displayed. Next to it, there was a picture of a battery. Three bars were on the inside of it. Next to that, a yellow image of what assembled a megaphone was pictured. On the bottom of the screen was a black bar separated into three boxes. DIAL, CONTACTS, and then MENU. And on the left side there was another tiny little box with an arrow.

"What do you do with this?" I asked Anna as I looked it over.

"You can call people with it," Anna replied, her tone mocking me. "You can also text, take pictures, and take video."

I gave her a cynical glance. "What is texting?"

Anna's response was slamming her forehead into the table. "Seriously!" Anna shouted, her hands moving wildly. "Are you an alien from outer space or something?" She looked at me through her lashes. "Texting is a way for a person to talk to someone else without calling them. It's incredibly helpful if you're busy with work and you can answer back at your own leisure."

I raised an eyebrow. I had no clue as to what she was saying. How can you talk to someone miles away without calling someone? It was impossible. I shook my head and asked, "What phone can take pictures and film?" I asked her, still skeptical.

"Any phone with a camera can," she replied. She pointed to the back of the phone as she explained. I turned over the box to look. In the top left corner, there was a tiny black square. Under it, there was a small reflective circle. It acted like a mirror. I turned the phone back over.

"How do you call someone?" I asked. "Where are the buttons?"

"For fu—here!" She reached over to me. I watched as her index finger tapped on the screen. She tapped the bottom box with CONTACS written on it. Instantly, the phone gave a short buzz in my hands. This time, I jumped completely out of my seat. Anna's phone crashed into the table where I was just sitting.

"What the hell was that?" I asked her, my eyes wild. Anna looked up at me like I lost my mind.

"It just vibrated," she explained to me.

"What phone vibrates?" I asked her, my eyes narrowed. That was just wrong. Vibrating phones. She sighed heavily and pointed to my chair.

"Sit down and I'll answer your original question about calling someone."

I glanced at my chair and slowly sat down. Anna picked the phone up and handed it to me. I slowly grasped it. On the screen, there were numerous names. Next to each name, there was a green phone next to it.

"If you tap on the phone picture, you'll call whoever you want."

We spent the next half hour going over phone basics, some of them I didn't understand. For example, she said her phone was able to carry Internet. I gave her a blank stare. She sighed and said that she would explain some other time.

"And that's how you work a cell phone," Anna concluded as she set her phone back on the table. I nodded and continued to stare at the phone. "Don't you have cell phones where you live?"

I shook my head. "Nope," I answered honestly.

Anna's mouth dropped open. "Seriously? Boy, we need to get you into the 21st century again."

I groaned. 21st century. Will it ever end? Anna picked up her phone and pushed a button.

"I need to go," Anna said. She quickly grabbed all the bags of food into her hand. I quickly rose to my feet to help her. She walked over to a trashcan and dumped the bags inside. "I guess I'll see you around," Anna said as she grabbed her purse. "It was nice meeting you, Ponyboy."

She quickly walked away from me, her heels clacking on the hard floor. I looked around, not sure what to do. "Oh, and Ponyboy," I heard Anna call after me. I looked in her direction. She was standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest, her right hip pushed outwards. "Don't forget to get rid of that ratty T-shirt." She flipped her hair over her shoulder again and started walking away, but not without gracing me with her infamous smirk.


	9. Answers

Chapter 9

Answers

Soda's POV

I was biting my thumbnail as I watched Two-bit stack beer bottles on the coffee table absently. It was already dark out. There couldn't be more than four hours left until Darry turned in for the night. Then I would finally learn the whereabouts of Ponyboy. Two-bit turned his attention to me, and for a second I thought I spoke my thoughts out loud. I froze instantly, too afraid to even inhale. But Two-bit smirked at me and pulled his shoe off, stacking it on top of the bottles, completing the castle. I exhaled in relief. So far, I have been able to keep my plans a complete secret from everyone, even Darry. Since Pony disappeared, he's been keeping an extra eye on me, whether to make sure I don't follow Pony's suite or he knows I'm hiding something from him, I couldn't tell.

"Soda," Steve warned me for the umpteenth time. He glared at me from the corner of his eye, and then his glower dropped to my bouncing legs that were planted firmly on the couch next to him. I wrapped my arms firmly around my fidgeting legs and gave him an apologetic look. He shook his head and continued to read the magazine he brought over for me to "cheer me up and stop me from moping around."

I rested my forehead on my knees and tried to breathe in calmly. Three hours and fifty-four minutes, three hours and fifty-four minutes, three hours and fifty-four minutes, three hours and fifty-four minutes…

I was knocked out of my thoughts by a rough hand shaking me gently. "Soda," Darry's whisper was in my ear. "Soda, wake up. We need to head for bed."

I slowly raised my head up to look at the wall across from me. Where the hell was I? Did I fall asleep? I slowly turned my head in the direction of Darry's whisper. His face was drawn with purple bags underneath his dull eyes. His face looked even more haggard with the sleepiness that was etched plainly into his face. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. Darry patted me on the back halfheartedly. "Let's go, little buddy. We both need sleep. Let's go to bed."

I instantly perked up. Bed? Bed? That meant sleep. And Darry was referring to both of us, including him. I glanced over his shoulder to the clock in the hall.11:27. I gasped.

It was time.

I quickly recovered my grogginess before Darry could see why I was so excited and ask questions that I didn't want to answer…at least not yet. I slowly rose to my feet, a show for Darry's benefit. He walked behind me as we walked to our respectable rooms. I heard Darry yawn before he spoke to me. "Goodnight, Soda."

I waved at me as I walked slowly into my room. I closed the door almost all the way. It wasn't necessarily cracked, but the metal latch was lying on top of the door frame. I waited behind the door to hear Darry's door close all the way, all my senses were on hyper-alert from the adrenaline pumping in my system. When I did, I heard his usual bedtime routine. I heard his shuffling feet as he went to his closet, throwing his jeans and shirt into the hamper, leaving him only in his boxers. I listened as he walked to the side of his bed, his hard breathing as he did twenty pushups. He flipped over onto his back and did twenty sit-ups. I continued to listen as he lay on the floor, trying to catch his breath from the vigorous activity. He finally got to his feet and walked over to his door to shut off the light. I waited for the sheets to settle and his breathing to be even before I walked tentatively out into the hall.

I tiptoed my way past Darry's door, my senses still on high alert. I was sure that Darry would wake up from my feral breathing. When I made it to the door, it took me ten minutes to open the door, three minutes to step outside, and another ten minutes to close the door. I jogged down the porch steps and slowly opened the gate. I was soon racing down the street towards the park. My heart was racing frenziedly as I got closer and closer with each untamed breath I took. I was soon able to make out the dark silhouette of the swing set in the distance.

When I ran to the monkey bars, I jerked to stop. Where the hell was C? I wrenched my head in a complete circle, searching. I was the only one here. I tried to control my breathing as I made sense of the information that I had at the moment. Maybe he left without talking to me. Maybe he thought I wouldn't come. I sure as hell hope I was wrong. This was the only chance to even get a sniff as to where Ponyboy could be.

I waited ten minutes for…anything. Nothing happened. I sighed, all hope gone of ever finding Pony. I started to walk back to the house, a new weight weighing on my shoulders, when a calm voice pierced the still air.

"I've been waiting for you, Sodapop."

I stopped where I was and turned around. There, standing not five feet before me was a man in a grey cloak. I took a startled step backwards, twisting my ankle as I did. I hobbled on my left foot, pain pulsating from my ankle to my toes. I grabbed the monkey bars to keep my balance. I heard a slight chuckle come from the man. The hood was up, so all I saw of his face was a black shadow, the moonlight playing games with my eyes. I shook my head and continued to stare at him, a fire building in the pit of my stomach. I curled my lip and glared into the shadow that masked is face.

"Where the hell is he?" I demanded, my voice coming out in a snarl. I wasn't afraid. I'll fight this guy with or without a twisted ankle. The man's shoulders moved up and down and I knew he was laughing at me.

"My, my, my. Aren't we a little quick with the questions? Don't you want to get to know me a little more?" I could hear the smirk in his voice, not needing to see it underneath his hood to know it was there. I growled.

"Where. Is. My. Brother?" I asked, my voice restrained. As far as I was concerned, this guy was the enemy. I didn't give a damn that this guy could be hiding a switch under his thick cloak. Or a heater. If he didn't give me a straight answer, he was dead. The man's head shook slightly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should control that temper of yours before you get into some serious trouble, Soda."

My lip curled over again when he used my name. "You said you wanted my attention," I spat at him. "I'm at your beck and call." My voice felt bitter on my tongue.

He raised his head slightly, the shadow in his face peeling back just enough to reveal the smirk that I knew he was wearing. He looked intrigued with my statement. "Really?" he asked me, mischief coating his tone. I flinched back slightly.

"What?" I demanded.

"Are you really at my beck and call?"

"What the hell do you want?" I asked, shouting at him with acid in my voice. He sighed and walked slowly to the opposite end of the monkey bars that I was on. He slowly climbed the ladder up and grabbed a hold of the third bar. He leaned down towards me, his body arched back. His head was thrown back to reveal his nose.

"I just want to know if you want to know more about me. And, word of advice here, you might want to take me up on my offer. Because you won't learn anything new about your brother if you don't. I don't know, I guess I'm sort of a people person." I saw his lips twist into a smirk. I looked towards the house. Maybe I should have told Darry about this. Or at least Steve. I was starting to have second thoughts about this. I squared my shoulders and stared up at the man.

"All right. I'll bite." I sighed and tried to think of a question I could ask him. "What's your name?"

"C."

"C?" I asked, not believing for a second that his parents would name him after a **ing letter. "Is it short for anything?"

"That's all you need to know right now."

I huffed and continued with my questions. "Okay, where are you from?"

His smile widened and I knew this question pleased him.

"I'm from here," he stated in silver voice. Goosebumps covered my skin when he spoke.

"Then how come I haven't seen you around here before?"

"We'll get to that soon enough." He nodded his head for me to continue.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I had a little brother."

"Had?" I asked, suddenly interested. "What happened?"

C. hesitated for a minute and then exhaled softly. "He died a long time ago." His voice was filled with sorrow for his lost brother. I gulped.

"What was his name?" The mentioning of his dead brother brought to mind what would happen if I were to lose one of my brothers.

"Jacob."

I nodded slightly. "How did he die?"

"He was killed in cold blooded murder. The bastard was too cowardly to face the consequences of his choices, so he shot himself right after he was done with my brother." C's voice turned steely as he spoke, his smirk vanishing, a snarl taking its place. I looked down at the dirt below my feet, his anger radiating off of him in waves. It was silent for a long while, the sound of the wind was the only thing disturbing the stillness. "Do you have anymore questions?" C. asked me. His voice was blank, no emotion coloring it. I shook my head and I heard him sigh.

I watched as he slowly climbed off the monkey bars and walked towards me. His face was once again shrouded in shadow. He stood three feet in front of me now. "I guess it's time to tell you where I'm from."

My ears perked up immediately.

"I'm from here."

My head jerked upwards to stare into his face. "Then why haven't I seen you around?" I asked him, not believing a word that he said. He snorted a laugh.

"Because I'm from the future." With that, he pulled the hood off of his head. I gasped.

"You!" I shouted at him, livid beyond belief.

Chase smirked at me with his arms crossed. I started toward him, but I staggered to the ground when I put my weight on my right foot. I hissed in pain and grabbed my ankle, pain throbbing up to my shin and down to my toes. Chase sighed as he stood over me.

"You don't seriously think that you can fight me with a twisted ankle, do you?"

I gave him a cold stare for an answer. He rolled his eyes and walked away from me to the swings. He sat on it, but he didn't start swinging. He watched as I struggled to get back to my feet. I used the metal ladder to help keep me steady. I slowly sat on top of it as I continued to glare at Chase.

"As I was saying…I'm from Tulsa, Oklahoma, but forty-five years from the future."

I stared at him like he had gone insane. I could tell that he knew I was dubious about his statement. "Think about it, Soda," Chase said, exasperated. "Put the clues together and they point to the same thing." He counted off his fingers as he said each clue. "You've never seen me before. I don't look like I belong here. And I sound like I'm from another time. To me, those all say that I'm from the future."

I rolled my eyes. "That's impossible. Time traveling is only science fiction crap. Made up."

"The United States is going to lose the Vietnam War."

I sucked in a breath. My head started to spin. "What?" I asked, my voice no more than a whisper. The look on his face didn't show any joking. His face was somber beyond belief. "The United States has never lost a war."

"They will on April 30, 1975."

I gasped. That was a little less than ten years from now. How could Chase know this? Unless he really was from…

No! It was impossible! He was just making this entire thing up. It wasn't real.

"The Berlin wall will be destroyed on November 9, 1989, with help from President Ronald Reagan. Inflation will rise. The American dollar is going to drop drastically in value. Elvis Presley will be found dead on his toilet from a drug overdose. We will be attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. We are going to be thrown into a war against Afghanistan and Iraq."

I shook my head, trying desperately to turn off my ears to the facts that were sprouting from his lips like they were actually real. We were going to be attacked? Elvis was going to die on a toilet seat? We were going to be in another war? Chase stopped talking for a long time for me to digest all the things he said. I looked up at him, my eyes starting to water.

"I see I've done enough damage," Chase said softly. "If you want to know where your brother is, listen closely." My mind suddenly focused on the words "where" and "brother." "Your brother is also forty-five years into the future."

My breathing stopped all together. Pony was in the future? Where Chase was from?

"Do you want to get your brother back home?" Chase asked.

"What the hell do you think?" I asked him.

"Okay. I need you to meet me here tomorrow afternoon at twelve 'o clock exactly. Not one minute before. Not one minute after. You will be able to reunite with your brother. And come alone. Like I said before, I only need your attention. Not your friends' and especially not your older brother's."

I nodded quickly and raced away from him as fast as I could with an injured ankle.

"Come alone!" Chase yelled after me as the distance between us became larger with each hobbled step I took. My head was still spinning as I slowly walked over to the front door. I rested my forehead on the screen door, my teeth gritted. Tomorrow I will finally be with Ponyboy. As soon as I see him, I'll give him a big hug and never let him go, let alone out of my sight. I slowly opened the door and walked inside.

As shadow caught my eye as I stared at the floor, the carpet plainly visible from the lamplight. Wait. Lamplight? I distinctly remembered all the lights were off when I snuck out. The realization hit me like a brick wall and I gasped audibly.

I slowly raised my eyes to meet Darry's blue eyes. He was sitting right across from me in his chair. His face was emotionless as we stared at each other. Darry's hands were resting on the armrests as he continued to stare at me. In his right hand, a piece of paper was sticking out if his fist. The note.

Oh, **.


	10. Betryl

Chapter 10

Betrayal

Darry's POV

I stared at Soda without speaking a single word. I knew my face didn't give off how livid I was with him. I tightened the note that I found on his floor in my hand as I watched his hands start fidgeting. I continued to stare at him, the silence being drug out as I thought of what to do.

~FLASHBACK~

_I laid in bed as I continued to go over my thoughts. The pushups and sit-ups I did didn't help clear my mind like I hoped it would. Why the hell did I have to yell at Pony for stupid things like grades? Soda was right. Pony had straight A's in everything but chemistry and math. I rolled over on my back and rubbed my face with my hands. It was all my fault. It was all my fault. Pony would be in his room sleeping with Sodapop right now if I just got off my high horse and not yell at him. The thought of Soda brought up a different matter._

Soda was hiding something. That was for sure. It was usually pretty hard to tell what Soda was thinking, but once you get him emotional, he was like an open book. I don't even think he knows that himself. He's been fidgeting and getting antsy ever since Pony poofed out of existence. I normally wouldn't notice that, because I did the same thing. But the last time Pony ran away, Soda was completely still. He wasn't jiggling his legs or biting his nails every other second. That, and the fact that when Soda made breakfast this morning, the eggs were their respectable white and yellow. I knew something was up. I had a hunch that Soda knew something very vital and it involved Ponyboy's disappearance. But why wouldn't he tell me? I'm the oldest of the three of us. I sighed and rolled over onto my stomach and tried to get some shut eye.  
  
~b~

_I shot upright, my body covered in a thin layer of glistening sweat. I looked around, searching for anything that might have caused me to wake up so suddenly. I didn't find anything of importance. I sighed long and heavy as I rubbed my eyes with the heel palms. I yawned as I turned my head to look at my alarm clock on the nightstand. It was one 'o clock in the damn morning. I had to be at work in five hours. I knew I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep anytime soon, so I heaved myself out of bed and opened my door. The cold air in the hallway was a relief to my fevered skin. I was about to walk into the living room when I spotted Soda's door wide open. My eyebrows furrowed. Didn't Soda close the door when he went to bed? I quickly glanced into the living room to see if he was up.  
_

_My eyebrows furrowed. Didn't Soda close the door when he went to bed? I quickly glanced into the living room to see if he was up. It was completely dark except for the moonlight streaming in from the open blinds from the kitchen. I instantly started to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I tried to reason with myself that Soda might have opened the door to let some cool air in._

When I walked into his bedroom, Soda wasn't in his bed. The sheets haven't even been touched. My breathing started to accelerate. Where was Sodapop? I looked around quickly to find any clue as to where he went. There was nothing.

Oh, no. Oh, please no. I couldn't lose my other baby brother. Not when I already have one missing! Please, please, please, please no! I ran my hands in my tousled hair. This can not be happening! I was about to walk over to Steve's to ask if he's seen Soda anywhere when a spot of white on the floor caught my eye. I slowly walked towards it. It was a piece of paper sticking out of one of Soda's jeans. I pulled out the paper to see what it said. It was a note. The script was too graceful to be from one of the gang's. I quickly ran over the words, my eyes bulging out of my skull. Someone knew where Ponyboy was! And Soda knew! Judging by the amount of creases the note had, Soda's had this for a while. And he never told me that a person knew the whereabouts of our little brother. My anger flowed back to me like a wave. I was breathing so fast, it sounded like I was hyperventilating.

How could Soda do this to me? Was it revenge for me being the cause of Pony's disappearance? Did he want me to suffer? I already was! And to top it off, Soda was keeping a very valuable secret that could benefit us both! I whipped my head around to face the open door, expecting to see Soda walk through it at any moment. I stood in his room for a full five minutes, glaring at the note in my trembling hands. I finally walked out into the living room, flicking the light on and sitting down on the recliner when I heard footsteps approaching the house. I made my face into a blank mask when the front door slowly opened.

~FLASHBACK~

We were still staring at each other, neither one making a move to do anything or say a word. Soda's hands started to fidget. I took in a deep breath, my face still blank.

"Hey, Pepsi-Cola," I said in an even voice. Soda nodded slightly, a nervous smile on his lips. His eyes were glued on the note that was sticking out of my clenched fist.

"Hey."

"What are you doin' outside at one 'o clock in the morning, little buddy? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Soda slapped the side of his legs, and then stuck his thumbs into his back pocket. He shrugged and smiled, his face now carefree and relaxed. "I was just out taking a walk to clear my head. A lot has been happening, as you may very well know." I was a little surprised that he was able to alter his nervous expression into one of complete comfort. I guessed he learned that from me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, his smile not faltering an inch. "And let me tell ya, it does wonders to the head. It helps you think clearly. You should try it sometime, Darry."

I smiled, though I was still irate over him lying to me. "I might. Let me ask you something, Soda." I slowly rose to my feet from the recliner I was sitting on. I crossed my arms as I continued to look at him. "Is there a reason as to why I found this note lying on the floor of your room?"

"Yeah."

I waited for his confession.

"You were evidently snooping around in my room."

My arms dropped to my sides, my anger now visible for all to see. "Cut the **, Sodapop," I hissed. He continued to look at me coolly, his body leaning on his left side.

"What the hell are you talking about?" His confused expression looked so convincing, that for a split second I thought I might have been wrong, but the note in my hand was proof enough that he was playing dumb.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." I threw the paper at his feet. He eyed it with a raised eyebrow. He looked back up to me, his expression dubious.

"That's just a piece of paper."

"With a few sentences written on it stating that someone knows where Ponyboy is! And it's addressed to you!"

Soda shook his head. "I think the lack of sleep is playing with your head, Darry. And with that said, I think we both need some sleep." He walked right by me, confidence rolling off of him like heat waves. As I watched him walk, I noticed that he was trying his best not to limp. My anger softened slightly when I realized that Soda was hurt.

"What happened to your leg, Sodapop?" I yelled after him. He stopped walking and braced his hand in the wall. I heard him swear under his breath as he looked over at me, a smirk playing on the corner of his lips.

"I twisted my ankle as I was taking my little walk. It hurts like a mother, but I'll be fine in the morning." He continued to walk towards his room, not bothering to cover up his obvious injury now. "Let's get to bed, Darry. We both have work tomorrow morning." With that, Soda shut his door.

I stared at the closed door, thinking of something to do. I sighed heavily and grabbed the note off the floor. When I went into my room, I placed the note on my dresser and crawled into bed. I left my door open, something that I never do. If Soda was going to sneak out again, I was going to hear it. I stared up at my ceiling as I waited for sleep to envelop me. If my gut feeling was right, Soda was going to meet this C person again, and very soon. As I felt my lids start to droop, one thought crossed my mind.

I wasn't going to let Soda out of my sight for one second.


	11. Annoyed

Chapter 11

Annoyed

Soda's POV

I jerked awake from an annoying sound that was coming from the nightstand. I groaned and slowly raised my head to look at my blaring alarm clock. I growled and slammed my fist into the snooze button. I rolled over onto my back and tried to get back to sleep. I promised myself that I would wake up in five minutes.

~b~

"Soda!" Darry's voice bellowed from my open door. I cracked my eyes open to glare at him. He smiled and leaned against the doorframe. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. "C'mon, Sodapop. Your alarm went off thirty minutes ago and breakfast is ready." He walked towards my bed. "It's 5:30, Sodapop. We both need to leave in half an hour. Steve's already waiting for you in the living room." With that, Darry walked out of the room. I groaned and rolled out of bed. I stood still for a minute, trying to open my eyes wide enough to actually start functioning.

I still wasn't fully awake, so I slowly trudged to the bathroom. As I passed the living room, I noticed that everyone was here. I rubbed my eyes and continued to stare, not entirely aware that I was even doing it. Dally caught me looking and smirked.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

I yawned and didn't reply. Steve walked into the living room with a plateful of eggs and sausage.

"You better hurry, man. You have about twenty minutes to get dressed, eat, and get to the station. Stop standing around like an idiot and get moving."

I rolled my eyes and shut the bathroom door behind me. I splashed cold water on my face from the sink. It helped marvelously. I twisted the knobs off and leaned against the sink. Last night was extremely nerve-wracking. I was anxious to learn what Darry was going to do, but he basically just let me off the hook. I didn't think my excuses were that good. Darry is my older brother. He's known me mine and his entire life. Even if Darry did let me off without as much as a warning…something was just not right about that. We were talking about the possible discovery of our lost little brother for crying out loud! He would not just let me continue on my way. If I knew my older brother, he had something planned for me. A harsh knocking on the bathroom door made me jump out of my thoughts.

"C'mon, Soda!" Two-bit's voice whined through the wood of the door. "I've got to take a leak!"

I growled and wrenched the door open. Two-bit was standing in front of me doing the potty dance; both his hands were planted firmly on the crotch of his jeans. "No one needs to hear about your bodily functions, Two-bit."

Two-bit smirked as he quickly jumped into the bathroom. I walked down the hallway towards mine and Pony's room when I heard the sound of Two-bit "taking a leak" loud and clear.

"Two-bit!" Dally yelled from the couch. "Close the damn door when you're taking a **!"

Two-bit's response was a loud laugh. I rolled my eyes and quickly got dressed for work. When I passed the bathroom, Two-bit was drying off his hands on his pants.

"You do know that there is a hand towel right behind you, right?" I tossed the tan cloth at him. He caught it and smiled. He made a show of folding it and placing it back on the towel rod, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles he missed. I smiled a derisive grin and slammed the bathroom door in his face. "This is how you close the door, Two-bit!" I yelled through the door. I held the door knob tightly as he tried to get out. "Now that you learned how to close a damn door, maybe you can practice it the next time you take a leak. Because, like I said before, no one needs to hear your bodily functions!" I quickly let go of the knob. The door flew open and Two-bit staggered back, falling into the bathtub sideways. His legs were sticking out and over the edge. I laughed as I walked into the kitchen, hearing Two-bit's muttered swearing as he attempted to pull himself out of the tub. Darry was in the living room, fastening his tool belt securely around his waist.

"Grab a few pieces of sausage, Soda," he said as he checked that he had all his things. "We need to go." I quickly grabbed five links of sausage and seized my shoes by the front door. We were soon in the truck and on our way to work. It was dead silent as Darry drove. That wasn't normal. Steve was normally boasting about one thing or another or Darry telling me he would be late coming home or something. I was starting to get a little nervous. I glanced at the digital clock in the dash of the truck. It was 5:53. I had several hours until I could reunite with Pony. Darry noticed my glance.

"Have any plans today, Pepsi-Cola?" he asked me without taking his eyes off the road. His tone was too casual for that to be just a random question. I shrugged, not answering too early or too late.

"Nope. I just happened to glance at the clock."

Darry nodded but didn't say anything. It was silent all the way to the DX. I quickly hopped out and clocked in my time. It was my turn to work the counter in the store so I walked behind it and waited for the first customers to come in. I expected Steve to walk to the back and start working on the cars that were in our temporary care, but instead, he hopped on the counter and started talking about Evie. I looked at him curiously. He hated to work in the convenience store. And, although he wasn't working, I knew he'd much rather be in the garage working on the cars. I shook my head and didn't give it a second thought.

~b~

As the hours dragged on, I was starting to get increasingly annoyed. Steve was right next to me everywhere I went. When I was handing out change to a customer, he was always over my shoulder. When I went out to fill gas in a passing car, he was wiping the windshield down with the squeegee. Hell, even when I went to the bathroom, he was sitting on the sink and continued to talk about trivial things. He only went into the garage when I did, which was exceptionally rare. Steve liked working on cars as much as I did, which was saying a lot.

As soon as the customer I was working on left, I turned my attention to Steve. "Why are you crowding me, Steve?" I asked him as I placed the receipt from the last purchase into the register.

"What are you talking about?" he asked me as he ate a chocolate bar that he paid for.

I slammed the door of the register shut and whirled on him, my anger and irritation coming out with venom. "You've been breathing down my neck ever since we've started working!" I shouted at him. My frustrations from the past two days were coming out full force. "It's not your turn to work the register and you haven't stepped foot into the garage without me being barely two inches away from you! Why are you crowding my space?"

Steve didn't bat an eye at me screaming at him. "I just want to be with my best friend," he answered calmly. I looked at him skeptically.

"You're with me everyday, Steve. Especially today. And besides, that Stingray needs to be done by tomorrow. I have to manage the counter and you're the only one not busy." I shooed him off with my hand. He didn't move.

"I already finished it," he stated as he continued eating his chocolate bar. I slowly turned my eyes on him.

"Finished?"

He nodded.

"There's no way you could be done, Steve. We still had a few things we needed to do to the engine. And you've been with me all day. I don't think there's a way you could have finished the engine and be with me at the same time."

"Think again," Steve said as he swallowed his last piece of chocolate. I gave an exasperated sigh and stalked towards the Stingray and lifted the hood. Steve followed my every step. I checked under the hood with a meticulous eye. Everything seemed to be in order. I glanced at Steve who had an arrogant smile on his face. I closed the hood and walked to the back of the garage where the keys were kept. I grabbed the Stingray's keys off their peg and shoved it into the ignition. The moment I turned them to the right, the car purred to life like a kitten. I stared at the dashboard in surprise. How could Steve have finished the car when we weren't done with it before our day off?

I turned off the car and walked back to put the keys back in their place. When I returned to the car, Steve was wiping off the body with a rag.

"How the hell did you do that?" I asked him. He didn't look up from his work.

"Do what?"

"Finish the car without leaving my side for a second?"

He turned to me with a haughty grin plastered on his face. "If I tell you, then I'll have to kill you."

I smiled and playfully punched his shoulder. I expected him to punch back, but instead he cringed away from the impact. I stared at him in surprise. He smiled up at me sheepishly. I gave him a quizzical stare and he sighed. He pulled off his blue DX shirt, his white wife-beater plainly visible. What I saw made me gasp in horror. Steve's right shoulder was literally black and blue with a giant bruise, its edges reached from the middle of his forearm, an inch or two on his back and chest, and a few inches before his shoulder met his neck. I stared at him, questions burning in my mind, and anger that someone had dared lay their hands on my best friend. Before I could ask, Steve answered.

"My dad," was all he said. Fury started to bubble up inside me. I hated when one of the gang was hurt. Especially if they were hurt because of family members. I was constantly finding myself fuming over Steve's father or Johnny's parents. No one deserved to be abused. No one. Steve sighed as he noted all the anger that flashed in my eyes. "That's how I finished the car," he admitted softly. My eyes were glued on the shining bruise on his right shoulder. "I ran out of the house to get away from him for a while. So I decided to use the time to my advantage and I worked on the car last night."

I was still glaring at the bruise. He sighed and tugged his shirt back on, careful not to put too much pressure on his upper arm. "Just forget it, Soda. It doesn't matter."

"Hey! Where's good service around here when you need it?" I easily recognized Two-bit's voice coming from the door. I was gnawing on my cheek as I shook my head. I turned back to the store to make sure Two-bit wasn't swiping anything off the shelves. I found him leaning against the counter with a smile on his face.

He must have seen my anger, because he looked at Steve and said, "You told him about Darry's bribe?" Two-bit's voice was filled with irritation. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Bribe?" I clarified. Steve groaned behind me.

"Has anyone ever told you to never jump to conclusions, Two-bit?" Steve hissed behind me. I whipped my head around to face him. He was glaring at Two-bit with frustration now present on his face.

"Isn't that why he's mad?" Two-bit asked him.

Steve jerked his head to the left and right.

"Oh," was Two-bit's meek reply.

"What bribe?" I asked both of them, eyes flickering between the both of them. Steve sighed heavily and looked at me evenly.

"Now, Soda. Remain calm."

I continued to stare at him with suspicion growing in my eyes.

"Darry paid us both to keep an eye on you."

I came up short. I tried to think of a coherent thing to say, but all I muttered was, "W-why?"

"He showed us the note."

Anger started to flood into me again. He was paying Steve and Two-bit to babysit me? So I wouldn't leave and find a way to look for Ponyboy? So that's why Steve hasn't let me out of his sight for one second today! He wanted to make sure I didn't sneak out!

"You're joking, right?" I asked them. Neither one spoke up to say that they got me and that I was so gullible. They both stared off in different directions. I snarled and slammed my fist into the counter. "That's **!" I screeched. "I'm eighteen years old! About to be nineteen! I don't need a damn babysitter, let alone two!" They both stared at me, apologies written clearly on their faces. I growled, frustrated beyond anything. I rubbed my face with my hands and glanced up at the clock. It was 10:15. I had exactly one hour and forty-five minutes to meet Chase in the park. And I had to get rid of my personal security guards to do it.

What the hell was I going to do now?


	12. Trust

Chapter 12

Trust

Pony's POV

I was watching the little kids play at a nearby park as I continued to think things over. The hype of being in a different time was starting to die down. I was slowly starting to get used to it. I still had the bags from yesterday by my side. I haven't put them on yet. I was suddenly reminded of the prospect of being in the same clothes for three days straight. I haven't even changed underwear! I sighed as I leaned my head back on the picnic table I was sitting at. I had bigger problems to worry about than three-day-old underwear. I needed to find a way back home.

I have no idea how I even got here, so how was I going to find a way back home? The only person who can give me that answer is Chase Solace. And he's forty-five years in the past! I have no way to contact him! I ground my teeth together as I glared at the little kids playing. If Chase was going to toss me into the future without warning, he could have at least told me how to get back home! I exhaled sharply, angry tears escaping from the corner of my eyes. I had a feeling that I would never see my brothers or the gang ever again. I was going to have to learn to adapt to this time and grow old here. Even though I should already be old by now!

I threw my head into my hands as silent tears started to flow freely against my will. I just wanted to go home.

"Ponyboy?"

My head jerked upwards at the mention of my name. Standing in front of me was one Anna Moore. She had vast worry in her eyes and a little bit of surprise. I quickly wiped the tears away from my face. I hated crying in public, let alone in front of me. Her eyes turned sympathetic as she quickly sat down next to me. She started rummaging through her purse. She pulled out a tissue and offered it to me, but I quickly shook my head. She huffed and shoved the tissue in my face.

"Just use it. The snot dripping from your nose is not attractive by any means."

I just stared at her. This girl sure as hell didn't sugarcoat anything, that's for sure. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the tissue out of her hand. I quickly wiped my nose and crumpled the tissue in my hand. We were both silent for a minute.

"So, what's up?" she asked absently.

I looked at her, confused. "Um, the sky?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I meant, how are you?"

"I've been better," I answered.

"Could you elaborate, please?"

I shook my head. "I'm not the kind of person to talk about how I feel." Well, that wasn't entirely true. I always talked to Johnny and Sodapop about things like that, but not to anyone else. Especially not to girls.

"Why are guys like that?" Anna asked rhetorically. "Why do guys not like to talk about how they feel? Do they think that it emasculates them if they actually think about how they feel? Talking about how we feel is what separates us from…" she looked around, trying to find an example. "Rocks."

I let her continue her ramblings, knowing that by now, it's in her nature. She looked at me when she was done talking.

"So, I ask you again. How are you?"

You wouldn't understand," I answered honestly. I don't think she'd believed me if I said that I felt lonely and miserable because my family is in the distant past. She groaned and threw her hands into the air.

"I give up!" she declared. She sat next to me with her arms crossed; irritation was rolling off of her like perfume. I took the time to actually look at her. She was wearing a long-sleeved midriff shirt. It was white with STAY GOLD written in gold lettering. Her navel piercing also changed. It was still a small thin chain, but it had only one aquamarine jewel at the end. She was wearing a long, white skirt. It was long in the back, but short in the front. Her shoes were white high heels. They were open toed with lacing that crisscrossed up to the top of her ankles. A little bow was tied at the back of her calf. Her hair was up into a bun, but it fell down her back in waves. It looked very formal and curly. She was wearing earrings that matched her piercing. She had on white eye shadow. Her lips were still very shiny. I continued to look at her, unable to take my eyes away from her. She noticed and gave me a weird look. "What?"

I quickly turned my head away to avoid her seeing my deep blush. "Nothing," I said quickly.

"I noticed that you haven't put on your new clothes yet," Anna sand offhandedly. She was glancing at the bags that were by my feet. When I didn't respond, she said, "Why not?"

"I sort of didn't have the time to."

"And you're still the clothes that you were in yesterday. Didn't you go home at all?"

"No," I muttered.

"What?" Anna shrieked. I cringed away. "Why not?"

Oh, damn. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid. What was I going to say for a plausible reason? I tried to wrack my brain for something, but I came up blank. Anna's gaze was starting to make me sweat. "Um…I—I—I…Um… Because…Uh…" I started fumbling my words like an absolute idiot. Anna continued to stare at me with her enigmatic eyes. They suddenly narrowed into suspicion.

"What's going on her, Ponyboy?" she asked suddenly, distrust clouding her tone. I continued to stare at the little kids. "Little kids aren't that interesting, Ponyboy," Anna pointed out. It was obvious that she knew I was trying to hide something from her. It wasn't like I was being subtle with it. As I tried to think of something, I suddenly noticed something. I may be stuck here until I died. Anna was the only who…I wouldn't actually say befriended me…but she was the only one who came out of the blue and talked to me. Hell, she even bought me clothes and food! She could be the only person I could actually trust. I realized that the only solution to my slipup was that I had to tell her everything. Well, probably not everything, but the gist of it. I turned to her, my mind set. Anna continued to look at me skeptically.

"Anna," I said slowly. I took a deep breath as I continued to look into her blue eyes. "Can we talk?"


	13. Temper

Chapter 13

Temper

'Get the hell out.'

I couldn't help the words that flitted across my mind as I watched the older couple deciding which drink they should buy. I sighed heavily and shifted my weight to my left foot. As soon as I found out that Darry bribed Steve and Two-bit to babysit me, saying that I was in a bad mood would be a very large understatement. I haven't been out of hearing range from either of them. If one went out from some reason the other would be right next to me. I've begged both of them to give me some space, but the only response I got was Two-bit walking to the other end of the counter and shouting at the top of his lungs if that was enough space, even though I could have heard him fine without the yelling. I've even tried to outdo Darry and attempted to bribe Steve and Two-bit more money than Darry promised. The only problem was that I didn't know how much Darry bribed them with and they wouldn't tell me.

"If anything, it's for your own safety, Soda," Steve said from underneath the car he was working on. "If you made any plans to meet up with this guy…" Steve paused for effect and I couldn't help but notice the expectant look Two-bit gave me as he sat on an old chair in the corner of the shop. I made sure that my face didn't give anything away. "He could have something up his sleeve and you could get hurt."

"I'm not a child," I muttered for who knows how many times. Steve sighed, but he didn't say anything after that.

After I waved off the smiling couple with a plastered grin on my face, my eyes shot to the clock on the wall. I bit the corner of my lip. I only had twenty-three minutes left until I had to meet Chase, and I haven't come any closer to ditching the babysitters than my very first attempt. I rubbed my face with my hands and dropped my head in between my arms, my forearms holding it up just inches away from the surface of the counter. I will never be able to meet Ponyboy. He's probably lost and scared somewhere in the future. Not knowing what to do or where to go or who to trust. I'm his older brother, damn it! It was my job to protect him!

"What's wrong, Sodapop?" Two-bit asked as he sat on the counter next to me. I glared at him through my lashes.

"You know exactly what's wrong."

"Ah, don't be so sour about it." He leaned around the counter and grabbed a bag of candy. He ripped it open and started throwing a few pieces into his mouth.

"You're paying for that," I muttered as I watched him chew with his mouth full. He gave me a cheeky grin, but he didn't make a move to pull out his wallet. I rolled my eyes and trained my eyes onto the grain of the white counter.

"Let's make a deal, Soda," Steve said as he walked into the store with a shop rag in his hands. His fingers were caked in oil and dirt. "If you can help me with this Chevrolet Belair, then Two-bit and I will let you off the hook."

"What's the catch?" I asked him with a doubtful tone laced within my words. Steve shook his head.

"No catch. Two-bit and I were thinking about it. You are eighteen years old. You're able to fend for yourself and make your own decisions. And besides, you're doing what you're doing for Ponyboy."

I stared at my best friend, astonished. "Wow, Steve. I can't believe you just said that."

"Well, you're not going to hear it often. And if Darry finds out that we let you off without a fight, he'll skin us alive."

I smiled and ran to the garage, eager to be done with the car as fast as possible.

~b~

"All done, Sodapop," Steve said with a smile. He closed the hood of the Belair and then turned to me. "I guess you're free to go."

"Thank you so much, Steve. I owe you big time." I ran into the store to clock out when I glanced up at the clock. I stopped dead in my tracks. My breathing started to accelerate. "No!" I shouted. It was 12:13. I was thirteen minutes too late! "Damn it, no!" Steve ran into the store.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I'm too late," I said.

No, no, no, no! I can't be late! There's no way I could be late! But the second hand on the clock kept ticking away. It was as if it was taunting me. Ha! Now, you'll never see you baby brother again. You failed him, Soda. You failed.

I smashed my fist into the counter, tears starting to bud out from the corner of my eyes. It was true. I failed him. I failed Ponyboy. I let him down.

"Late? Late for what?" Steve asked as he continued to look at me.

"For meeting Cha—" I caught myself before I could say Chase's name. He didn't need to know that much information. "For meeting C! I was supposed to meet him at noon exactly, but I'm thirteen minutes late!"

Steve narrowed his eyes at my almost mistake, but he didn't say anything. "You were supposed to meet this guy today?"

I glowered at Steve. "Evidently." I hissed. I looked at the clock again. I was now fifteen minutes late. There's no way Chase was waiting for me at the park by now. He said twelve 'o clock. Not one minute before. Not one minute after. Steve looked me over carefully.

"C'mon, Soda. Both our shifts are done. Let's get back to the house."

I barely heard him. He left me in the store, knowing that I wouldn't sneak out. When Steve locked the garage, him, Two-bit, and I started our trudge back to the house. I stared at the ground the entire time.

"How do you know that you can trust this guy, Soda?" Steve asked me after ten minutes of complete silence. "How can you be sure that he's not bluffing you?"

"Trust me. He's not," I answered. By the way he was rounding off the events that happen in the future, you could tell he wasn't fibbing. That and I have never seen him before in my life just added up to him being from a different time.

"How do you know that?" Two-bit asked. He was serious for once. I looked up to meet their penetrating gazes. Could I tell them what all I knew? What harm would that do me or them? I've already missed my chance of meeting Ponyboy. What could happen if I told them what information I could? I opened my mouth to confess everything, but the sound of tires on dirt made me look quickly behind me.

A 1963 Corvette Coupe was slowly pulling up. Five Socs were grinning as they slowly got out of the car.

"Well, what do we have here?" one of them asked. I immediately put up a defensive wall. Everything about me screamed "** with me. I dare ya."

"I don't know, Brent." The driver said as he slowly walked towards us. "It looks like we have some greasy trash standing in our way. What do you think, Nick?" He turned to the guy right behind him as they slowly started to circle us. Nick looked us over like we were the scum of the earth. All five of them looked like identical twins of various sizes. All of them had brown or blonde hair that was freshly cut in the same hairstyle. All five of them had on different colored madras shirts. From red, to orange, to even a disgusting yellow. All of them had white pants with clean tennis shoes. They were like clones of one another. All of them.

"I think we need to move them out of the way," Nick suggested as he looked me over. I jerked my chin into the air defensively.

"Now, now," Two-bit said with a smile. He raised his hands into the air as if to calm everyone down. "Let's not do anything we might regret later."

"The only thing I'll regret is not pounding you sooner." He reached over to grab Two-bit by the arm, but Two-bit quickly dodged it as he reached into his back pocket where his switch was concealed. In a flash, Two-bit was behind the Soc with the blade of the switch at his neck.

"Oh, buddy," Two-bit said with a tight grin. "You'll regret that right there."

In a blink of an eye, we were fighting. Steve and Two-bit were fighting against two of them while I went against the apparent leader. I got a few punches and kicks in, but this guy was bigger and heftier. I wouldn't be able to hold out for long. By the looks of it, neither could Steve or Two-bit.

Suddenly, there were two more Greasers. I didn't pay attention as to who they were when the playing field was evened out. I just continued to wail on the Soc in front of me. Anger was coming out full force and I converted it into the fight. I was clawing at the guy's skin as I rained down punches. I was literally blinded by my rage and frustrations. I only saw red. I heard the fighting, but it sounded distant.

Eventually, someone tugged me by the waist. My arms and legs continued to flail as the sorry ** scurried away into his car. The wheels peeled out and they were out of sight in seconds.

"Soda!" a voice shouted in my ear. "Soda, calm down!" I immediately realized that it was Darry who was holding on to me by the waist. I instantly stilled my movements. My sight started to go back to normal as I slowly started to calm down.

"Damn, Soda," Dally said as he dragged on a cigarette. "I didn't know you could be that violent, man. Where the hell did that come from?" He motioned to my hands and I looked at them to see what was wrong. Dried blood was crusted underneath my fingernails. My eyebrows rose. I've never been that brutal before. Not even in the rumbles.

"You're alright, Soda," Darry said softly. As soon as I heard his voice, I wrenched away from his touch and turned on him.

"But you won't be!" I shouted in his face. He took a step back in shock as I rounded on him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why the hell did you bribe Steve and Two-bit to watch over me like a damn child?" I asked him. Realization dawned on his face at my heated words. He opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. "I'm eighteen years old, Darrel! I don't need babysitters."

"Soda," Darry said softly, wary of my temper. "I was only trying to protect you."

I snorted. "I don't need protecting." I walked up to him so that our noses were just barely touching. "I was this close to finding Ponyboy." I held up my hand in between us. My index finger and thumb were just centimeters away from each other. "And because of you, I'm never going to be able to see Ponyboy again." My tone was hushed, anger making me almost whisper my words.

Darry's eyes started to glass over. He knew that I was right. That he was at fault. Yet again. It was his fault that Ponyboy ran away. It was his fault that now we will never see our baby brother again. He opened his mouth to say something, but my fist stopped him from going any further.

He stumbled back as he held onto the left side of his jaw. Dally and Steve were immediately in between us. I didn't give them any mind as I seethed at my older brother.

"It's because of you that Ponyboy isn't with us right now!" I shouted at Darry. He looked at me with a thousand apologies in his eyes.

"Soda…" Two-bit tried to reason with me, but I turned on him.

"Don't you dare come near me, Two-bit Mathews," I warned in a low voice. I looked at Darry one more time with accusation plainly etched into my face. I quickly raced away from them. I needed to get away from Darry. I wanted out also. I smiled grimly. That was the last thing Ponyboy said before he disappeared off the face of the earth.


	14. Confession

Chapter 14

Confession

"So, let me get this straight. You're from the past and you time traveled to the future?" Anna drawled with a slight smirk. I could tell just from her tone that she was mocking me. I nodded, determined to make her believe.

We were sitting at a table outside a sandwich shop that was close to the park. We each had a foot long sandwich in our hands. I bit into mine harshly. I was starved.

I did it. I told Anna everything. I started from when Darry and I had the fight and ended with us eating sandwiches. I also threw in that I was from 1965 and completely out of my time. Anna continued to eye me skeptically.

"Am I crazy, or does that sound just out of the norm?"

I dropped my sandwich on the paper plate in front of me. Bits of salami, peppers, and pickles landed in my lap. I wiped them away impatiently. "You think you're crazy?" I asked. "I'm the one that was thrown into a whole different era!" I picked off a piece of salami and tossed it into my mouth. Anna bit off a mouthful of her chicken teriyaki sub before she spoke.

"Okay," Anna said with a mouthful of chicken and bread in her mouth. "What proof do you have that says you're from the past?"

I gave her an exasperated glare. "Well, for starters, I don't dress like anyone else around here."

She nodded her head thoughtfully as she took another bite of her sandwich.

"I don't talk like I'm from here, I've been in the same clothes for three days straight, and I don't know what apparent simple things like a cell phone are!"

"That's true," Anna admitted. She shook her head then. "Okay, let's say, just for argument's sake, that I believed you. How could you have gotten from the past to the future?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be here right now," I muttered. I wasn't sure, but I think I saw Anna flinch back slightly. It was silent for a few minutes as we both ate our sandwiches. Anna's eyes were on me the whole time.

"You really are from the past, aren't you?" Anna asked me.

I nodded my head. "That's what I've been telling you for the past hour and a half."

She nodded and finished her sandwich. She folded the paper plate in quarters and threw it away. "Let's go."

I looked up at her in confusion. "Go where?"

"If you're really from the past like you say you are…" As she was talking she grabbed me by the arm and yanked me out of my chair. I quickly grabbed my sandwich as I stumbled along behind her. "Then we have to show you all the things that you missed in the last forty years or so."

"And how are we going to do that?" I asked her when we walked up to a shiny red convertible Corvette. Or at least I think it was a Corvette. It had the Corvette emblem on the back. She walked over to the driver's side. She looked over at me as she got in. Immediately, the top started to go down. I watched as she put on a pair of sunglasses. She looked over at me with a smirk on her face; her eyes were covered by the heavily tinted lenses.

"We are going shopping."

I rolled my eyes as I got into the car. Here we go again.


	15. Motives

Chapter 15

Motives

As soon as I threw the front door open, I ran to mine and Pony's room. I went to the closet to find my old abandoned backpack that I once used for school. I threw the bag on the bed and started going through my dressers. I tossed in whatever my hands found purchase on, not bothering to see what it was that I was throwing in. I kept telling myself that Darry was the one that drove me to this extreme. He cost me any chances I had to see Ponyboy again. He was the one to blame when it came to Ponyboy running away. He made Ponyboy runaway twice!

On the other hand, a part of me was screaming questions at me. Why was I running away also? I was pretty sure that Darry was having just as hard of a time dealing with this as much as I was. Maybe even worse. That part of me was also screaming that if I left, Darry would have a hard time paying the bills. He had enough to deal with when raising two younger brothers, even when the youngest disappeared. I was pretty sure that if the second youngest also ran…he wouldn't be able to handle that.

I tried to shut up that little voice in the back of my head as I shuffled through my drawers for some clean underwear. The next time I wanted to run away, I needed to make sure that all the laundry was done.

"Running isn't going to solve anything, Sodapop."

I whipped around as the sound of an all too familiar voice resounded in the small bedroom. Chase was sitting comfortably in the middle of the bed that Ponyboy and I shared. He had a huge smile on his face. I put a hand on my racing heart as I continued to look at Chase.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him in a breathy voice. He chuckled slightly as he lay back on the bed, his arms underneath his head. He was the picture of ease.

"You weren't at the park when I told you to be," he said as he closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I meant to. I really did. It's just that my older brother Dar—" He cut me off.

"Bribed Steve and Two-bit to watch over you so that you couldn't come and meet me. I already know." He cracked his eye open to look at me. "This bed is really comfortable."

I looked at Chase, my mouth hanging wide open. "How did you know that?" I asked, completely baffled. He rose to sit on the foot of the bed. He rested his arms on his knees as he gazed into my eyes. I was once again lost in the deep green color that they held.

"There are things that I know, Soda. That and the fact that Steve saw us talking last night."

My eyes widened. Steve saw us? He saw us? Then why the hell didn't he say anything to me? He knew that I had to go.

Wait.

He knew that I had to meet Chase. He knew! My anger with Darry started to soften as my newfound anger with Steve started to rise drastically. So that was why Steve was so willing to let me off the hook. He knew that I wouldn't have been able to finish that damn car on time. I was blinded by my eagerness to meet Ponyboy that I didn't totally comprehend that.

Chase was watching and reading my expression as my emotions ran across my face like an open book. "I knew he was listening," Chase continued. "So when you left, I called him out. He didn't appear, of course." He winked at me.

"So, you knew that I couldn't make it at twelve exactly," I told him. My voice started to raise pitch as my panic started to grow. "So you can't hold me accountable for not showing up. I can't—"

"I'm not holding you accountable for anything," Chase replied. "It wasn't your fault that you couldn't be at the park by twelve. I know that."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked him.

"I'm going to let you see your brother."

I couldn't take it anymore. My body heaved forward and I crumpled to the ground. Silent tears were streaming down my cheeks as I thought about meeting Ponyboy.

"But I'm not doing it for you."

My high came crashing down as I looked up at Chase. His face was hard as stone and his lips were pressed into a tight line. I slowly rose to my feet as my instincts screamed at me to run.

"What do you mean? Why else are you doing this?"

"There's more to me than I told you about last night." Chase rose to his feet so that we were nose-to-nose with each other. "You already know about my little brother, Jacob." He walked over to Pony's side of the bed; his grey cloak brushed my knees as he passed. He grabbed the book that Ponyboy was reading as he sat back down on the bed. He flipped through the pages as he spoke to me. "When Jacob was shot, I would have done anything to get him back. Anything." Chase slowly raised his eyes to look at me. "Let me ask you something, Soda. I already know the answer, but humor me. Would you do anything for your little brother?" He paused for a second. "Or older brother?"

"Yes," I said immediately. There was no hesitation. He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be so quick to answer, Sodapop. When I say anything, I do mean anything. No limits. No restrictions. No nothing."

I stayed silent as he waited for me to change my answer.

Chase chuckled slightly. "Yeah. That was my exact answer, too. I didn't think about what my words could cost me. I just wanted to get Jacob back." Chase was silent as he paused. His eyes never left mine. "I met this man that was wearing a grey cloak. He told me that I could get Jacob back. I just had to do something for him." Chase was staring at the wall, his eyes foggy from reliving a memory. "I had to find a boy willing to go to my time in order for Jacob to come back. This boy had to be the same age as Jacob in order for it to work. He gave me the power to travel from one time to another in order to accomplish this task. After months of searching, I finally found someone willing." His eyes reconnected with mine. My breath hitched in my throat.

Ponyboy.

"How could sending Ponyboy to the future bring back your brother?" I asked him.

"There's reasons as to why we're born when we we're born, Soda. There are major effects if you were to stay in a different era for a certain amount of time."

"Like what?"

"Well, you could just…fade out of existence."

My breathing stopped all together. I started to get lightheaded as I thought about the meaning of Chase's words. What? No one can just fade out of reality. That can't happen. Then again, everyone thought that time traveling couldn't happen, either.

"Don't you get it, Soda? I need that to happen to Ponyboy to get Jacob back. You know how it is. A life for a life."

I snarled as I glared at Chase. How dare he threaten Ponyboy's life? "You son of a **!" I screeched as I lunged at him. When I tried to grab his neck, my fist closed on air. I soon found myself on the bed with Chase standing behind me with his arms crossed. He shook his head as he stared at me.

"You can't fight me and win, Soda. The cloaked man that I met gave me certain abilities to ensure that I can find a boy Jacob's age. He did give me the power to time travel, for God's sake!" His eyes warned me not to attack him again. It took all my willpower and strength not to charge him and shred him to pieces. My teeth were gritted as I breathed heavily through my them.

"You can always make sure that Ponyboy doesn't disappear forever," Chase continued. I glowered at him suspiciously. "You can always bring him back here before anything can happen to him. The man said 'there's always an option for free will' or something like that."

"So what are you waiting for?" I spat. "Get me to where Ponyboy is." I paused as I thought into this. "Wait, how do I know that you're telling the truth? That if I bring Ponyboy back here, that he won't fade away?" It was hard to squeeze the last two words out of my throat.

Chase sighed. "That's the catch. At least for me. I have to be totally honest to you with no exceptions. Or else I will never see Jacob again."

"How long does Ponyboy have left?" I asked him. I desperately wanted to get him back home as soon as possible and for understandable reasons.

"Ponyboy can last a week in the future. He's already been in 2010 for three days. He only has four days left."

"Then get me to where he is!" I screamed.

"Soda," Chase warned me. "Part of my deal with the devil was to warn you of all the dangers. If you can't bring back Ponyboy, then both of you are goners."

My eyes shot to his. Both Pony and I would be dead if I fail to bring him back? What about Darry? What would happen to him? I couldn't leave Darry alone. It was up to me to bring Ponyboy back home. If I failed, Darry would lose not one, but two little brothers. That would devastate him. I curled my lip.

I can't fail him.

I won't fail him. I'll bring back Ponyboy in one piece and I'll be right behind him. Chase's question suddenly started to bounce around the walls of my mind. Would you do anything for your brothers?

"I don't care," I said as I stared at Chase defiantly. "I'm bringing Ponyboy home once and for all."

Chase nodded. "Okay. Are you ready to meet Ponyboy?"

I started to get lightheaded again. I've dreamt of this moment ever since Ponyboy ran out of the house. I nodded as I felt butterflies careening into the walls of my stomach. Chase clapped his hands together. "Okay, then. Of you could just—"

"Wait!" I yelled. "Could I write a note to Darry before I leave?"

Chase hesitated for a minute and then nodded. "Make it quick. I'll be out front when you're done." With that, he walked out of the bedroom. I quickly got to my feet and went over to the desk that Ponyboy always used for homework. I shoved open all the drawers until I could find a pencil and paper. I laid the paper down on the wood of the desk and started scribbling words.

_Darry,_

I'm sorry I'm not in the house when you read this. I was planning on running away when C magically appeared in my room. His real name is Chase Solace and he's the one that sent Ponyboy away. He's in the year 2010, Darry. And no, that is not a joke. I repeat. That is not joke. And if he doesn't get back in the next four days, we will lose him both. And that's why I'm going after him. The only thing is if I don't get him back in four days…you'll lose us both. I'm so sorry, Darry, but I at least have to try. I just wanted to say that I love you, Darry. I am so proud to call you my older brother. I'm sure if Ponyboy was with us right now, he'd say the same thing. I love you, Darry. And take care of the gang for Pony and me.

Love,

Sodapop Curtis  
  
Tears stained the sheet of paper as I wrote Darry's letter. I quickly shunned them away with my hand as I folded the paper into quarters. I ran from the room, possibly for the last time, and walked into Darry's bedroom. It was just as he left it this morning. The bed was made without a single article of clothing on the floor. I kissed the folded paper before I set it on the bed and raced out of his room.

I saw Chase standing outside just as promised.

"Okay, Soda," Chase said as he focused his attention on the street. "In order to bring Pony back home, you have to bring him to the Oakridge Plaza parking lot by twelve 'o clock in the afternoon exactly on the fourth day."

"What's with you and the number twelve?" I asked him as I felt the air around me start to move. I looked at the tree in the front lawn. Its leaves were perfectly still. The air continued to grow in speed around me as it centered to the street in front of the house. I shivered involuntarily. Is this what Ponyboy felt before he was thrown into the future?

"It was the same time that my brother was murdered," Chase replied as he brought his arms up. His fingers were pointed toward the street like he was going to grasp something in front of him. I shivered again. "Okay, Soda," Chase said as his forehead started wrinkle in effort. "Close your eyes and think of where you want to be."

I did as instructed. My thoughts were centered on Ponyboy. I held his smiling face in my head as I felt the velocity of the air increase significantly.

"Open your eyes, Soda."

When I did, gasped in surprise. In front of me was a large, swirling black oval. Its edges were tinged with gold and red. Did Ponyboy see this, too? Chase walked behind me. He rested his hands on my shoulders as he leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"I wish you luck, Sodapop. You're gonna need it."

With that, he shoved me forward. I yelped in surprise as the air picked me up off my feet and carried me to the black hole. I saw Chase watching me as I dived deeper into the black abyss. His face held hope and denial. I didn't see anything else though, because blackness clouded my sight.


	16. Sorrow

Chapter 16

Sorrow

I watched as Soda ran away from me. It seemed like people were doing that a lot lately. When Soda was a tiny little dot in the distance, someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Dally looking at me sympathetically. That was very rare to see.

"Don't worry about it, Darry," he told me. I shook my head and leaned against the wooden fence behind me. I worked my jaw back and forth. Soda can sure land a punch.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been overbearing on him," I mused aloud. Steve shook his head slightly.

"No. What you did was one hundred percent right, Superman. I was meaning to tell you this, but I didn't have time."

I glanced at Steve from underneath my eyelashes. He sighed and then looked me square in the face.

"Last night, I caught Soda talking to some stranger at the park."

I was all ears.

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Yeah. I overheard this guy telling Soda to meet him at the park today at twelve exactly so that he could meet Ponyboy. Not one minute before or after. I think you were totally justified in keeping an eye on Soda."

I shook my head again. So that was why Soda said he was so close to meeting Ponyboy. I groaned. "I still don't think that I should have bribed you and Two-bit to watch over him like a child. And what if he's right? What if he really was just a few hours away from bring Ponyboy home? I totally **ed that up."

Everyone's eyebrows rose. I rarely swore at all. It was pretty evident that I was feeling at a little emotional at the moment. I sighed and got back to my feet. "I should go talk to him."

Everyone parted their own separate ways after they said goodbye as I trudged home. Along the way, I decided to think a bit. I knew that I shouldn't have been so imperious. It was just the thought of losing Sodapop while I was already missing a little brother was just too much to bear. I couldn't take it. I bribed Steve and Two-bit with good intentions in mind, but I apparently only caused more of a hassle. I was all too thankful that the court gave me full custody of both Pony and Soda, because if the state decided to drop by unannounced in the last three days and they found out that Ponyboy was missing…I didn't even want to think about it. That, too, was too much to take. I saw the house up ahead. I looked around, the hairs on my skin starting to stand on end. It was the air. It was too still. And heavy. In the back of my mind, fear was starting to make its presence known. I shivered as I opened the front door.

"Soda!" I shouted. It was dead silent. I shivered again, the uneasiness starting to come back full force. "Soda?" I called out again. I walked into the kitchen only to find it empty. Where the hell was he? "Soda, I need to talk to you," I called out in case he was deliberately ignoring me. Silence greeted me once again. I walked quickly to the room that he and Ponyboy shared. The door was wide open. Soda's old backpack was sitting on the bed, its zipper wide open. I looked inside. There were clothes stuffed halfway to the top. I took in a shaky breath. What was that for? I looked around again, fear started to grow throughout my head and body. "Soda?" I called out again. Soda's dressers were slightly opened as if he was rummaging through them. I quickly ran out of his room, panic making my entire body starting to shake. "Soda! Soda, where the hell are you?" I ran down the hall, passing my room. I glanced inside for a brief second and stopped. On my bed were two pieces of paper. I slowly walked towards the bed. I picked up the first sheet of paper, my hands shaking uncontrollably. I hesitantly opened it. The writing was the same as the one on the note I found on Soda's bed. I read over the words swiftly.

_Dear, Darrel_

I'm sure you've seen my handwriting from the note that you found in Soda's pants. So you might have a vague clue as to who I am. I am the one who took Ponyboy away from this time. And, I must assure you that he went on his own free will. I didn't force him into any choices that he might have chosen. Let me ask you one thing, Darrel. What was it like when Ponyboy ran away from you? When you forced him to run through that front door? That brings me to another very important question. What's it like to lose a little brother? Or better yet, what's it like losing two little brothers? You and I share a very important similarity there. Though, in your case, your little brothers are still alive. Alas, I must take my leave. Take care and I look forward to meeting you soon.

Chase  
  
If I wasn't shaking hard before, I sure was now. Chase? So C was actually a guy named Chase? Was Soda talking to him last night?

Was that was Steve saw? I started to get lightheaded as so many questioned popped into my head, most of them answerless. I swallowed audibly as I put down Chase's note and picked up the second piece of paper. As I opened it, I recognized Soda's distinctive handwriting immediately.

_Darry,_

I'm sorry I'm not in the house when you read this. I was planning on running away when C magically appeared in my room. His real name is Chase Solace and he's the one that sent Ponyboy away. He's in the year 2010, Darry. And no, that is not a joke. I repeat. That is not a joke. And if he doesn't get back in the next four days, we will both lose him. And that's why I'm going after him. The only thing is if I don't get him back in four days…you'll lose us both. I'm so sorry, Darry, but I at least have to try. I just wanted to say that I love you, Darry. I am so proud to call you my older brother. I'm sure if Ponyboy was with us right now, he'd say the same thing. I love you, Darry. And take care of the gang for Pony and me.

Love,

Sodapop Curtis  
  
No, no, no! This can not be happening to me. It can't! Ponyboy is in the future? And Soda went after him? And if Soda doesn't come back in four days, I'm going to lose them? For real. This has all got to be some kind of nightmare. There's no way I could lose my younger brothers. I was there when I first saw them open their eyes. I was with them when the police came to our house and told us about our parents' death! We've been through a shitload of crap together and I'll be damned if this Chase guy thinks he can ruin this family into nothing. I grabbed Chase's note off my bed with a snarl and ripped it into tiny little pieces. I threw them on the carpet as I slowly crawled onto my bed. I held Soda's note in my hand as I continued to read it over and over again. When I was done reading, I clutched the note close to my chest. For the first time in who knows how long, I cried.


	17. Searching

**A/N: Okay, so this is where I come in. The original author of this story, jacobluver113, didn't have any motivation to finish this story, so she asked me to. So she owns the first 16 chapters of this story, as well as the characters Chase Solace and Anna. I own the OC Haley in this chapter. Neither of us owns The Outsiders. Just makin' sure you know.**

Chapter 17

Searching

I had no idea that it would hurt so much to be transported 45 years into the future, but now I do. My body was sore and the wind was knocked out of me from pretty much falling from the sky, and I really didn't want to get up but I needed to start trying to find Ponyboy as soon as possible.

"Hey, are you okay?" I heard a voice ask. I tried to stand up but I got dizzy and almost fell, but I grabbed onto a nearby tree for support. I looked around. I'm definitely not in 1965 anymore.

"Where on earth did you come from?" I looked over and saw who the voice was coming from. A girl, looking to be around my age. She was a few inches shorter than me, had dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing a Supergirl shirt and blue jeans. I avoided the question. I couldn't tell her the truth; she'd think I was crazy!

"I'm okay," I finally said. She looked at me, concerned.

"Are you sure? That looked like it hurt!" I nodded even though I was aching all over.

"You didn't happen to see a boy, about 15, a little shorter than me, with reddish-brown hair, green-grey eyes, and looking like he's not from around here did you?" I looked at her hopefully. She gave me a strange look.

"No… sorry."

"Oh… that's okay. I'm trying to find my little brother, I kinda lost him." I frowned.

"Well, I hope you find him," she said, smiling at me.

"Thank you." I started to walk away when she called out to me. I stopped and turned around. "What?"

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Sodapop," I answered naturally. She blinked.

"That's really your name?" She didn't seem to believe me.

"Yep, it even says so on my birth certificate." I don't think any other name could suit me better, really.

"Oh, cool! I wish I had a cool name like that." I smiled at that.

"What's your name?" I asked. She sighed.

"It's Haley, like four or five other girls at my school. Sometimes I really wish I had a different name. Like yours! Then no one could mistake me for someone else. I hate it at school when the teacher is passing out papers and yells out, 'Haley!' and the 2 other Haleys in the class are like, 'which one?' Geez." She paused for a moment and continued, "Sorry. I guess I talk too much. You're busy looking for your brother. It was nice to meet you, Sodapop." We shook hands.

"Nice to meet you too," I said. I waved as I walked away to start looking for Ponyboy.

This whole thing was so crazy. I never would've thought anything like this would happen. When Ponyboy ran out after that fight with Darry, I thought he would just go somewhere like the movies or something to cool off and then come home later and I would have to try and be the peacemaker again. Boy, was I wrong.

I sighed. Ponyboy could be anywhere! He's been here for three days already. Chase said I had to bring him with me to the Oakridge Plaza parking lot by noon on the fourth day_._ Where was that? Well, first I had to find my little brother.

~b~

I had been searching all over for Ponyboy for hours, and I still haven't seen any sign of him anywhere. I sat down dejectedly on a park bench and sighed. I felt so drained and I was really worried about Pony. I just _had_ to find him! I can't let him just… disappear forever! And Darry, I know he wouldn't be able to take it if that happened. Neither would I.

I felt a rush of anger for a second. If Darry could've just let Pony's grades be… I shook my head. No time for agonizing over the past. I had to find him… I still have some time left.

~b~

After a while I realized that I was really hungry. I decided that I might as well eat _something._ I looked around and saw that there was a McDonald's nearby so I went in. I thought of how tuff it would be if I ran into Ponyboy here… but that would be too easy. I sighed walked up to the counter to order something when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I quickly ordered a Pepsi and had to pay a dollar forty-nine. Why was it so expensive? I shook my head and turned around. I looked closer and saw a girl with long brown hair sitting across from… Ponyboy? I was pretty sure, but the kid had had his head down. I went up to the table.

"… Ponyboy?" I really hoped it wasn't someone else. I wasn't in the mood to be embarrassed. The kid's head shot up. Ponyboy! His eyes got really wide.

"Sodapop!"


	18. Worry

Chapter 18

Worry

Steve's POV

I couldn't believe my best friend actually went into the future to find that stupid kid that disappeared yet again. This was so ridiculous. Why can't he just stay put? He really doesn't know how good he has it. Even though they lost their parents, they were still the luckiest greasers I've ever met. I mean, they still had Darry and he takes pretty darn good care of them. Actually, he was kind of like a father to all of us. He was the closest we had to a real one. My dad kicks me out all the time, we haven't seen Two-Bit's dad in years. Who knows where Dally's family is, and Johnny's parents beat him.

Anyway, Darry was upset when Ponyboy disappeared, but now that Soda's gone too, he's a wreck. He tries his best to hide it, but we can all tell. The rest of us are worried too. I couldn't stand it if my buddy was gone forever, and as much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn't be thrilled if Pony went down with him.

I also didn't even want to think about what would happen to Darry if that happened. All we could really do was hope and pray that Soda coincidentally runs into the kid somehow at a McDonald's or something. I leaned up against the wall. I swear, if I ever see that Chase guy… I'll make him be sorry he ever messed with this gang.

Darry came back from work looking more exhausted than I'd ever seen him. He looked like he aged ten years ever since Soda left.

"You okay there, Superman?" I asked. He just grunted and walked past me into the kitchen. This whole thing just made me so mad. I think I was starting to go crazy from all the silence, too. It was amazing what the absence of two members could do to this gang. Usually, it was always wild and crazy and loud. Me and Soda would be playing cards, Pony with his nose in another book or hanging out with Johnny, Dally getting into trouble, Two-Bit making jokes and drinking, Darry telling everyone to settle down a little once in a while… but now it was way too quiet. Everyone was just so worried about the two missing Curtises.

I followed Two-Bit into the kitchen to get something to drink, but stopped dead at the sight that greeted us. Darry was sitting at the table, his head down, and he was visibly shaking. Was he crying? Two-Bit shot me a worried glance. We walked over to him and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

"Hey, Darry, you okay?" Two-Bit asked. Darry slowly looked up at us. He wasn't crying, but he looked really troubled.

"Yeah," he said, the cold mask taking over again. It didn't fool us. Neither of us were very good at the whole comfort thing, but Darry was our buddy and we couldn't just ignore it when he was upset and his brothers weren't there to take care of it.

"C'mon man, you can talk to us…" Two-Bit said, placing a hand on Darry's shoulder. Darry just shook his head.

"I'm fine… I just…" he sighed. "I'm just worried about Pony and Soda. It's all my fault…" He buried his face in his hands.

"Don't worry about it, man. They'll be back… they have to be," I said, also trying to convince myself.

"But what if they don't? I'll never forgive myself… I'm a terrible guardian…" he trailed off.

"Don't think like that, Dar. They'll be back, simple as that," Two-Bit reassured, smiling one of his trademark smiles. It didn't seem to cheer Darry up very much, though.

"Why would they even want to come back?" he muttered. Two-Bit and I exchanged confused looks. What did he mean by that?

"Why would you say that?" I questioned. Darry's shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath.

"They hate me. I don't blame them for that, though. I drove Pony away again… Soda was planning on running away before he left to go find Ponyboy… they both just wanted to get away from me." His eyes were watering then, and he turned his head away. We've never seen Darry so upset before, not even the last time when Pony and Johnny went missing. And that was really saying something.

"They don't hate you, Darry. Soda said so in that note, remember?" I understood where Darry was coming from, but I knew that there was no way Soda could hate one of his brothers. He had been awful harsh before, but I know it was only because he thought they'd lost Ponyboy forever. He was mad at Darry, but not _that _mad. Darry just shook his head again.

"Yeah, but… I don't know what to believe. It seems like everyone's just been running away from me…" Neither of us really knew what to say to that. We didn't know how to make him feel better; I think only his brothers could fix this. Two-Bit patted his back.

"They'll be back, Superman. You'll see." Darry gave a weak smile.

"Thanks, guys." Then we all looked over when we heard the door slam. We almost tripped all over each other, hoping to see Sodapop and Ponyboy. But of course, it wasn't. It was only Dally and Johnny.

"Oh, it's just you guys," Two-Bit said disappointedly. Dally smirked.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, man." He flopped down on the couch and Johnny shifted nervously.

"Hear anything about Ponyboy and Soda yet?" he asked unsurely.

"No, man. Sorry," I answered. Johnny frowned in disappointment and Dally looked a little mad.

"Man, I'd like to teach that Chase guy a lesson." Darry sank down into the armchair and covered his face with his hands.

"Join the club," he said blearily.

That guy was screwed. Darry and Dallas were the last people you would want to have mad at you. If that guy knew what he was in for by sending Ponyboy to the future for whatever reason he had, I would say he had a death wish. And it wasn't just Darry and Dally, he had to deal with me and Two-Bit, too. He really picked the wrong family to mess with. There was an awkward silence for a few moments and then Darry got up and walked out the door, slamming it a little. Two-Bit let out an explosive breath and I knew he was thinking the same thing as I was. Sodapop needed to hurry up and bring Ponyboy back with him, because if he didn't, Darry was surely going to break. And none of us wanted to see that happen.

"Do you think he's found him yet?" Johnny asked in a quiet voice.

"I hope so, Johnny. I hope so," I answered, willing them to show up at the door at any moment.

_Come on, Sodapop. We're counting on you._


	19. Because of You

**Chapter 19**

**Because of You**

**Darry POV**

I went outside and leaned against the house and closed my eyes. The guilt was eating me alive. Soda's words to me from before kept repeating over and over in my head.

_"I was this close to finding Ponyboy. And because of you, I'm never going to be able to see Ponyboy again. It's because of you that Ponyboy isn't with us right now!" _

Soda certainly had a right to be mad at me, but it still hurt all the same. I was only trying to protect him… Then I remembered what Ponyboy said before he ran away from me.

_"Why can't you just let me be? Isn't it enough work to sit and listen to you rag on me all the time? I'm done! You hear me? Done! I want out!"_

It was all my fault. Tears welled up in my eyes. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Soda's letter, looking over it again.

_I love you, Darry. I am so proud to call you my older brother. I'm sure if Ponyboy was with us right now, he'd say the same thing._

I wanted to believe that. I really did, but since Pony disappeared after we had that fight, a big part of me couldn't believe it. I should've never yelled at Ponyboy the way I did. Pony, proud to call me his older brother? I wasn't so sure. And Soda's been awful mad at me, he even punched me! I lifted my hand to my jaw and sighed. He also wrote that he was planning on running away. What kind of brother was I?

I looked up to the sky, thinking of my parents. Why did they have to go? If only they had lived… none of this would've ever happened… things wouldn't be so hard. Dad would've handled the situation with Pony's grades a whole lot better, and they didn't fight often. No one really fought with Dad anyways. He was like Sodapop, always laughing and smiling. I really missed him. We used to be real close, and we looked a lot alike so some people would think we were brothers.

And Mom… she was something special. Sometimes she could even get Dallas to stay out of trouble. And if you didn't think that was amazing, I couldn't tell you what was. They were both so important to the whole gang. Try as I might, I could never replace them. Now both of my brothers were missing _in the future_ somewhere and there's a chance I'll never see them again. I've never felt like such a failure. I sank to the ground. I hate not knowing what to do; not being able to do anything… it was killing me.

"Hello, Darrel." I looked up, not recognizing the voice. I had no idea who this was or why on earth he would be wearing a grey cloak… wait. It was the devil himself.

"You_!_" I said between clenched teeth. My sorrow and exhaustion quickly transformed into total rage. I stood up, ready to tear him to shreds. Maybe I was the one responsible for running Ponyboy out of the house, but he was the one who sent him away. Heck, my brother most likely would've come back if it wasn't for this jerk.

"I know what you must be thinking right now. You want to beat me up, is that right? Well, you can try but it won't do you much good, trust me." I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"And why would I want to do that?" He walked closer to me with a smirk on his face which just made me even more angry.

"Well, for one, I was given certain abilities that won't really allow you to be able to tear me to bits, sorry. Also, if you make me upset enough I could just decide that I don't really feel like giving you your brothers back. I'm only doing this to get my own brother back, you know, and whether your brothers come back or not doesn't really affect me." I was seething with anger now. It took all of my willpower not to jump at him.

"You little sonofagun. Do you have any idea what I've been through? Huh? You… you sent my little brother away! And now I might lose both of my brothers no thanks to you!" He shook his head.

"He went on his own free will, Darrel. I didn't force him. He wanted out, I simply let him out." My heart constricted in my chest and I cursed under my breath. I just wanted to be able to blame someone other than myself.

"If my brothers don't come back home in one piece, you are going to be VERY sorry. I mean it. I don't care if you have _special abilities_. Those two are all the family I have left," I growled menacingly, pointing at him.

"Relax; I know exactly how you feel." He said seriously. I laughed humorlessly.

"You have no idea how I feel, you hear me?"

"Listen, I had a brother too, and I lost him. He was murdered, you know. At least your brothers are still alive. Don't get so worked up. We'll both get what we want after this is all over." I balled up my fists, counting to ten in my head as I tried to calm down a little.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?" He raised an eyebrow and started to walk away but he turned back for a second.

"Look, not all hope is lost for you. I promise I will return both of your brothers back to you if Sodapop finds your little brother. Don't worry too much; I can see that Sodapop is very determined. Goodbye, Darrel." He finally disappeared and I sat down on the steps, feeling tired. _Don't worry too much. _Ha. I guess he doesn't know that 'worrying too much' was my job all too often anymore. That's all I've done ever since we lost our parents. And now that Pony and Soda were missing I was even more afraid. I sighed, hoping that my brothers were okay and that Chase would keep his promise.

**Review please!**


	20. Found

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it takes me so long to update! I'm kind of lazy and I get writer's block a lot, and school was not helping… but hopefully I'm going to be able to update more frequently during the summer… but I actually don't think this story has many chapters left because it's almost done… anyways, enjoy! **

**Chapter 20**

**Found**

**Ponyboy POV**

Anna and I have been kind of sticking together since she found out that I'm from the past, and she's been trying to get me caught up with "the times". We had stopped at a McDonald's to get something to eat and even though the prices changed, I was glad there still was McDonald's and Pepsi. But I don't want to stay here. I laid my head down on the table. I just want to go home. Didn't Chase say that I could get back? But where was he?

"Ponyboy, are you okay?" I heard Anna ask. I didn't answer. I wasn't okay. I missed the gang. I missed Soda, Two-Bit, Johnny, Dally and Steve (I guess), and… and even Darry. I don't care about the fight we had anymore. I just want my brothers back…

"Ponyboy?" That wasn't Anna's voice. I looked up.

"Sodapop!" I jumped up from my seat and hugged my brother. "How'd you find me?" Soda smiled.

"It's kind of a long story, but Chase sent me here to find you before the week's over." Before the week is over?

"What happens after a week?" Soda was quiet for a second.

"Nevermind. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Did you just say something about a guy named Chase?" Anna asked suddenly. Soda gave her a puzzled look.

"Yeah… his name is Chase Solace. He's the one that sent Ponyboy here."

"I actually heard about him before… he shot and killed his brother and was going to shoot himself but some guy in a grey cloak showed up and I don't know what happened, but no one's seen Chase since then." Soda looked a little confused.

"Wait, you said that he killed his brother? He told me the reason he sent Ponyboy here was to bring his brother back, but he was the one to kill him?" Anna shrugged.

"That's what I've heard." I couldn't believe this. Chase sent me here so he could somehow bring his brother back to life after killing him? Why me? I shook my head. I just want to go back home.

"How do we get home, Soda?" I asked.

"Well, Chase told me to bring you to the Oakridge Plaza by 12:00, so we should probably get going." I looked at the clock. 11:45. I turned to Anna.

"Thanks for helping me out." She smiled.

"No problem, Ponyboy. You really needed it; you didn't even know what a cell phone was!" I laughed and without thinking about what I was doing, I kissed her. My face got really red and I was about to turn around and beat it out of there but she actually kissed me back!

"Do you know how weird that actually was? You should technically be sixty by now," she teased. I looked over and saw Soda trying desperately not to laugh his head off. I'm just thankful that Two-Bit isn't here to see this. "Goodbye, Ponyboy. Nice to meet you, Sodapop." Soda nodded, still trying not to laugh.

"Nice to meet you too. Come on, Ponyboy, let's go home." As we were leaving, I took one last look at Anna before we walked out the door. Soda started cracking up and my face got even redder, if that was even possible. We headed to the Oakridge Plaza to wait for Chase and I started biting my nails. I was getting really anxious to go home.

"What's been going on with the gang?" Soda frowned suddenly.

"We've all been worried about you. I'm the only one that Chase would talk to and he wouldn't let me say anything to Darry about possibly being able to get you back. He knows now, though."

"How is Darry?" Soda sighed.

"I don't know. I feel kinda bad, though. I gave him a pretty rough time since you disappeared and I kept telling him it was all his fault. Yesterday he bribed Steve and Two-Bit to watch me while I was at work… I don't know, I guess he was worried about me or somethin', but anyway I got really mad at him because I thought it was too late to meet Chase and I would never see you again. I yelled at Darry, and then I punched him and ran off…" I looked at him in surprise as he nodded sadly. No one in the gang had ever dared to hit Darry, especially Soda. "Yeah… I can only imagine the giant guilt trip I sent him on." I looked down, wishing for a cigarette.

"I would've come back, you know, I wasn't really going to run away. Not after last time." Soda smiled a little. He was about to say something when Chase appeared.

"I see you've found your brother." Soda crossed his arms.

"You better send us back like you promised!" Chase smirked. I thought of those bad guys in movies that would promise something and then later they say, 'Oh, I lied'.

I held back a sigh of relief when Chase said, "Don't worry, I will." He lifted his hands and muttered, "I sure hope this worked." Then he told us to close our eyes and think of where we want to be and when we opened our eyes, a black hole appeared, just like the first time. Chase shoved Soda and I into it, and as we started falling, I closed my eyes and smiled, happy that this whole thing was finally over and that I was going back to 1965, where I belonged.

After what seemed to be a long time, I realized that we were both going to fall on the hard ground again and I would've groaned but I was already on the ground before I could make any noise. We both got up slowly and I looked over at Soda.

"I'm glad we won't have to do that ever again." Soda winced as he rubbed his arm.

"You're not kidding." I finally took in my surroundings. We were home! We both raced to the door and I flung it open. It didn't seem like anyone in the gang was here but I could hear someone in the kitchen.

"Darry, we're home!" Soda called.


	21. Home

**A/N: All right, here's the last chapter! I hope I did okay with this story. Some things were kind of hard to write since the original author lost some of the chapters that used to be up. **

**Chapter 21**

**Home**

There was a crash and Darry ran into the room. Tears filled his eyes as he grabbed us both in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you guys are all right!" Darry sobbed. He took a step back and tears started falling down his cheeks as he looked at us. "I thought I lost you guys…" He put his hands on my shoulders. "Oh, Ponyboy, I'm so sorry… this is all my fault! I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did. I overreacted and I made you run away again. Soda almost ran away too, and I almost lost you both." I felt really bad. This was now the second time I caused Darry to cry. And it wasn't all his fault… I should've stopped our argument from becoming a fight. I mean, maybe I didn't care about chemistry and math and I thought I would never need them for anything in my life, but if I tried I knew I could get A's. I guess I should try, even if all it would do is make Darry happy. And right now, that was all I wanted. A lot of people usually laugh when they think of a big, tough guy crying, but to tell you the truth, seeing Darry cry was just really upsetting. I hugged Darry and started crying too.

"I'm sorry too, Darry. It's not all your fault either… I overreacted too. I'm sorry I made you worry so much, too. I would've come back if it wasn't for Chase… don't cry…" Darry sniffed as he let go of me. He smiled as he wiped his eyes.

"Darry…" Soda began, "I'm sorry I got so mad at you. I was just worried about Pony. I wish I could've told you about what was going on sooner but Chase didn't want me to tell anyone. And about me planning to run away before… that wouldn't have lasted long. Listen, I forgive you for fighting with Ponyboy. And I'm sorry for making you feel so guilty…" Darry gave a small smile.

"You guys don't hate me, then?" Soda and I looked at each other in surprise.

"Of course not!" We both shouted at the same time, which actually made Darry laugh a little. I frowned at what Darry said, though. Maybe we don't always get along and get mad at each other sometimes, but I could never actually hate my brother. Neither could Soda. And besides, we'd be stuck in some boys' home if it wasn't for Darry. I guess sometimes I just forgot how much we really needed him. We both hugged Darry again and as his tears vanished I knew he was happy again and I promised myself I would never let any of our arguments go this far ever again.

Two-Bit came through the door then and as soon as he saw us a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Hey, the kid's back! So it looks like we're all friends again, huh?" I smiled over at Darry.

"Yeah, we are," I said. Darry grabbed me in a headlock and gave me a knuckle sandwich.

"Aw, Darry, cut it out!" All of a sudden both of my brothers tackled me to the ground and started tickling me mercilessly.

"G-guys!" I managed in between laughs. "S-stop! T-Two-Bit! H-help!" He just stood there, looking quite amused.

"Well, I would, but… I don't really want to!" I tried to glare at him but I was laughing too hard. My stomach started to hurt and I could barely breathe.

"Ow!" I complained, still laughing uncontrollably. My brothers finally let up and I laid there, trying to stop laughing and take deep breaths. When I finally got my air back I sat up and gave Two-Bit a dirty look.

"Thanks for all your help," I said sarcastically. He just smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I rolled my eyes at him and Soda helped me up.

"Hey, you deserved it. You gave us all quite a scare! By the way, though, what was-or _is_ the future like anyways?" Two-Bit asked. I was about to answer him when Johnny came in.

"Any news about…" He stopped mid-sentence when he looked up and saw me. His eyes lit up. "Ponyboy! You're back!"

"Yeah," I said. Soon Dally and Steve showed up.

"Sodapop! You guys are back!" Steve yelled happily.

"It's about time," Dally said, lighting a cigarette as he started to smoke. Darry didn't look too happy about him smoking in the house, but nobody can tell Dally what to do.

"What's the future like?" Two-Bit asked again.

"It was a lot different. They didn't have Greasers or Socs, the cars looked different, everyone always seemed to be in a hurry, everything costs more money! I got a small Pepsi at McDonald's and I had to pay a dollar forty-nine!" The gang could hardly believe it.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Steve exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know. I thought it was stupid too," Soda scowled.

"There was this thing Anna showed to me called a cellphone…" I started, but Two-Bit interrupted me.

"Wait, wait, wait. Anna? You met a girl?" Soda grinned and I sighed inwardly. Here it comes…

"Yeah, he did. You shoulda been there, man! He kissed her, and she said, 'you know how weird that actually was? You should technically be sixty by now'!" He imitated her voice and batted his eyelashes at me. My ears got really red and everybody was cracking up.

"That's just too good!" Two-Bit laughed. I waited until everyone calmed down a bit and tried to change the subject.

"Anyway," I said loudly, "there was this box thing called a cell phone. You could call people on it like a regular phone but it was small and it didn't have a cord. It had a little screen on it too… she also mentioned something called texting… she said you could talk to someone else without calling them. It was weird. She said you could take pictures and videos with it too!" Everyone looked really surprised.

"A phone can do all that in the future? Wow…" Steve said.

"I guess a lot of things can happen in 45 years…" Darry mused. Dally looked like he was thinking about something.

"What did that Chase guy want anyways?" he asked, changing the subject again. Everyone looked at me and Soda.

"He said that somehow by sending Ponyboy to the future, it would bring his own brother back to life. Apparently his brother was murdered… but Anna said that she heard that he was the one to kill him…" Soda answered as the rest of the gang just stared at him. "I know, I don't really quite understand it all either. It's really complicated."

"Do you think it worked? That he got his brother back, I mean?" Darry wondered. Both me and Soda just shrugged.

"I know one thing, if Ponyboy here ever tries to run away again he's gonna have to go through me first," Dally said, to everyone's surprise. "What? It's quiet and boring around here whenever anyone goes missing." I smiled a little.

"I don't think I'm gonna run away again."

"You better not," Soda and Darry said at the same time. I laughed.

"I won't."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to hear more about this girlfriend of yours." Two-Bit elbowed me. I rolled my eyes. It was good to be home.

~b~

**Chase POV**

I watched as Ponyboy and Soda disappear into the black hole. I almost felt bad that I had chosen to use Ponyboy for this but he said he wanted to get out. It seemed like he and his brothers were really close. Like me and Jacob… I really hope this worked. I want my little brother back. I just want to see him and apologize. I couldn't apologize enough for what I did, though. Will he even be able to forgive me? I still can't believe what I had done. I shot and killed my own brother. I didn't mean to, it just happened so fast… I should've stopped myself. I didn't deserve to have him back. I shut my eyes. There was no use in beating myself up. I need to try and make things right if I can, somehow. The man in the grey cloak appeared and stood before me.

"Chase Solace."

"Yes," I answered.

"You succeeded in bringing a boy of your younger brother's age who was willing to come from his time to yours in order to bring Jacob back to life. You no longer need your powers." There was a flash of light. "Here is your brother," he said as he disappeared. Jacob now stood in front of me.

"Chase!" he shouted. Tears filled my eyes and I hugged him tight.

"Jacob, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, I forgive you. I know you didn't mean it." I smiled into the sky when he said that. I was lucky to have him as a brother, and I promised myself I would never hurt him again.

~b~

**Ponyboy POV**

I was sitting on the couch with Soda watching TV. It was getting kind of late and I yawned. Darry came in.

"Don't you two think it's about time for bed yet?"

"No," Soda said sleepily. Darry gave him a skeptical look.

"Oh no? Come on, I know you guys haven't had a good night's sleep for a while." Soda looked at him for a second, then back at me.

"All right. Good night, Darry."

"Good night," Darry said back. Soda started to walk to our room but stopped when he noticed I wasn't following him. "Ain't you comin' Ponyboy?" I stood up.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." I needed to talk to Darry. "Hey Darry."

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm sorry about my failing grades…" Darry interrupted me before I could finish.

"Pony, can't we talk about this tomorrow?" He looked really tired.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to do better next time." Darry smiled.

"I'm glad." I hugged Darry and he ruffled my hair. "Good night, little buddy."

"Good night, Dar." I went into my room and I was going to climb into bed but I noticed the book I had been reading before all this happened was gone. Just disappeared. It was strange, the same thing happened to me as the boy in the story. I never got to read the ending, but I think I know what it was anyway. There was no place like home.


End file.
